Letters from an American

On My Mind

How Should Historical Sites Memorialize Trauma?

Heather Cox Richardson
Jul 16, 2023
∙ Paid

The debate over whether to tear down the house where four students at the University of Idaho were murdered last year highlights a big question historians grapple with: how should a society commemorate the places where atrocities happen?

The Idaho case is not historical, yet, and the imperatives of the upcoming trial of the man accused of committing the …

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