A new free course “The Language of Memorials” has been launched on Zrozumilo! online educational platform.

Since 2014, and especially in 2022, the need for society to immortalize the tragic events of the Russian-Ukrainian war has been growing.

Therefore, the public now has to solve a number of important tasks. In particular, it needs to understand why some new projects cause powerful discussions or even scandals. And also to determine which models of memorial practices should guide Ukrainian society. In the context of modern war, it is also important to explore the need to create a fundamentally new language of memorials.

During the course, students will learn:

•       how to “read” a memorial as a text;
•       what are the main visual forms and techniques used by the creators of memorials?
•       how the world’s memorial language has evolved;
•       which elements of the language of memorials have existed for many centuries and which have emerged only in recent decades;
•       how philosophical concepts help to understand the “messages” of memorials;
•       how a memorial heals social wounds and provokes the need to work with difficult issues of the past;
•       which memorials in different countries have changed the way we think about working with the past;
•       whether memorial language can change, and whether temporary memorials are important;
•       the difference between a memorial and a counter-memorial;
•       how important visitors are for the functioning of memorials.

This course is designed for representatives of communities who feel that it is important to create memorials in their communities, for educators, government officials, and civil society. It is also for anyone interested in working with the past and memory who feels the need to increase their level of expertise in order to form a position on new memorial projects in Ukraine.

Registration for the free online course “The Language of Memorials” is available here.

The online course was prepared within the framework of the program The Post-War Memory Culture in Ukraine, implemented with the support of Switzerland, and with the support of forumZFD (Forum for Civilian Peace Service) in Ukraine.

The content of this video is the responsibility of the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Past/Future/Art memory culture platform and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Swiss Confederation / Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as Zrozumilo! online educational platform and East Europe Foundation.