History in Public Space

This book focuses on various manifestations of history in public spaces: in the physical ones of various historical times and geographical places, as well as in the virtual world.

It discusses how the spaces have been shaped and re-shaped, by whom and for what (not always laudable) purposes, and raises pragmatical and ethical questions for both research and practical activities in the field. By combining both micro and global perspectives, the universal role that history plays in spaces created by and for, as well as the factors determining its usages, is revealed. The authors are rooted in specific national contexts: Canadian or American, Ukrainian or Polish, British or Irish, German or Luxembourgish, Korean or Brazilian, and the case studies are varied including large cities and small towns, city centers, and godforsaken cemeteries, but the narratives built on these cases go beyond when they deal with issues such as decoding history and its meanings in public spaces, doing history in public spaces, and observing changes in manifestations of history in public spaces.

This volume is an essential resource for anyone interested in the relationship between history and public space in a global perspective.

Joanna Wojdon is a professor of history at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. Her research interests include public history, Polish American history, history education, and history of communist propaganda. She edited Public History in Poland (2022) and authored Textbooks as Propaganda. Poland under Communist Rule (2018); Communist Propaganda at School: The World of the Reading Primers from the Soviet bloc, 1949-1989 (2021); and Polish American History after 1939 (2024).

Dorota Wiśniewska is an assistant professor at the Institute of History, University of Wroclaw, Poland. Her research concentrates on women’s history, history didactics, and public history. Initiator of International Public History Summer School in Wroclaw (since 2018). Co-editor (with Joanna Wojdon) of Public in Public History, Routledge, 2021.