Reading Response

Remember each post should cite at least 2 of the assigned readings for this week using in-text citations and should be at least 250 words. Please see the rubric for further grading details.

Please address the following:

Streich (2002) presents two opposing views about how to address historical injustices and on p. 533 states that “a shared collective memory is difficult to achieve under conditions of inequality between perpetrators and victims of injustice.”

Should a history of Early America include an active remembering of different historical injustices (e.g. Native American Genocide, Slavery, Japanese Internment Camps, etc.) or do members of these communities have a right to forget these injustices in order to move forward?
How can we create a shared collective memory of Early America if different communities disagree on whether to remember or forget the past, especially in terms of historical injustices?
What role does archaeology play in the creation of a shared collective memory?

sources
Streich, Gregory W. 2002. Is There a Right to Forget? Historical Injustices, Race, Memory, and Identity. New Political Science 24 (4):525-542.

Franklin, Maria. 1997. “Power to the People”: Sociopolitics and the Archaeology of Black Americans. Historical Archaeology 31 (3):36-50.