Borders of Memory is an interdisciplinary investigation into the role sites of memorial contestation play in contemporary politics, particularly in Asia and the Pacific. States generally emphasize heritage as sources of security and legitimacy, while societies invest considerably in conservation in order to shore up cultural identities. Recent years have seen states, particularly in East Asia, experience and express profound disagreements regarding specific sites of memory, which have become spaces of intense political contestation as well as international disputes.
This project attempts to understand memory’s role from the ground-up, building its analysis around the material sites of memory themselves. Conceptualizing these contested heritage sites as ones cut through by borders of memory, it will undertake a transnational investigation into the political effects of these material and mnemonic presences within the region. The project will also contribute to important ongoing research into questions of borders, scale, infrastructures, and heritage.