Nanovic Sites of Memory Application
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Welcome to the application portal for the Nanovic Institute's research programs. The Nanovic Institute is currently accepting submissions from undergraduate students to work on the following project:
Sites of Memory: Cataloging Europe’s Contested Spaces
This is a paid research opportunity for undergraduates during Summer 2025. Individually, students will survey, research, and analyze a single site of memory (broadly defined) in Europe. Together, we will contribute to an online digital resource that shares each site of memory and the public conversation and debate that surrounds it (https://nanovic.nd.edu/research/research-initiatives/student-research-projects/sites-of-memory-in-contemporary-europe/). How do spaces, locations, or objects arise from, reflect, and give shape to public memory? In what ways does public memory differ from private memory? This project endeavors to research and catalog contested sites of memory that have generated debate over Europe's history and cultural identity. What, ultimately, does it mean to invoke the past publicly in the present? Why and to what ends?
This project is intended for students studying, serving, or researching in Europe during Summer 2025 who can visit a site (or multiple sites) in person. Observing how individuals interact -- or do not interact -- with the site is important to our understanding of how they shape everyday life.
Each participant will select at minimum one site to research; they will then generate a short analysis of that site. Each analysis must include:
-- 2 or more original photographs (i.e., taken by the student and therefore in the public domain);
-- discussion of the site’s background (up to 250 words), which includes a description of the site, and its history;
-- background of the debate (up to 250 words);
-- and an analysis (up to 500 words) of the site and debate that makes observations about how public memory "works" in the present.
You are welcome to think broadly about the prompt. Students could, for example, research why certain sites have been removed or destroyed, why sites have been chosen to be maintained, or the challenges inherent in engaging with symbols of the past located within the built environment. While the project is not intended to chart the removal of monuments, some projects may focus on this process.
“Sites of Memory” could include:
- Monuments
- Memorials
- Architecture
- Museums
- Environmental Sites
(NB: Please check our database of past projects to ensure that your proposed site has not already been included.)
Students will be expected to work with Nanovic Institute staff in choosing their topic and editing their analysis. They will also be expected to read several key texts and theories about the meaning of sites of memory and how to analyze monuments. For their time, contributors to the project will earn $250.00 for each submission. Multiple submissions are welcome, though please limit your submissions to two. (Please contact Dr. Kimmey if you are interested in preparing write-ups on more than two locations.)
Applications for this project are due on Friday, June 20th. Please reach out to Dr. Roy Kimmey with any questions at rkimmey@nd.edu.