[OPIRG-EVENTS] June 11, lecture: "Identicide: Warfare's Appetite for Symbolic Place"

[Maha <devyldoll@yahoo.com>]

> What has been  happening in Palestine for more
> than 50 years:
> "Their destruction is not so much collateral
> damage or a matter of military necessity but
> rather the intentional destruction or removal
> of
> landscapes during conflict with the intention
> of
> weakening cultural identity, of eroding what
> grounds people with place."
> A very interesting presentation not to be
> missed.
> 
> Special presentation open to the public: 
> 11 June 2002, Tuesday, 8:00 pm 
> Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library, 120 Metcalfe
> 
> 
> 
> "Identicide: Warfare's Appetite for Symbolic
> Place" 
> Sarah Jane Meharg, B.LA., M.A. (War Studies), 
> Ph.D. Candidate (Geography), Queen's University
> 
> identicide@hotmail.com 
> www.postconflict.com 
> 
> 
> None need to be reminded of the impact of the
> ravages of war. People, 
> economies, and political systems all suffer, as
> do the material icons 
> of cultural heritage. Revered places with
> historical, aesthetic, 
> symbolic or scientific value are targeted.
> Their
> destruction is not 
> so much collateral damage or a matter of
> military
> necessity but 
> rather the intentional destruction or removal
> of
> landscapes during 
> conflict with the intention of weakening
> cultural
> identity, of 
> eroding what grounds people with place.
> Identicide may be applied to 
> immovable vernacular property (the recent
> destruction of Jenin), as 
> well as movable property (the burning of
> Ottoman
> manuscripts) in the 
> Sarajevo National Library. 
> 
> The destruction of the material indicators of
> cultural identity is a 
> feature of modern, as well as ancient, warfare,
> even as the rest of 
> the world attempts to preserve and protect
> sites
> of cultural heritage 
> as part of our shared patrimony. Recognition as
> a
> nationally 
> protected site or as a world heritage site may
> even lead to its 
> demise during conflict, as seen in the
> systematic
> destruction of 
> Dubrovnik, Croatia, in 1991. 
> 
> This presentation will highlight the
> significance
> of 'landscape', 
> attempts to protect 'landscapes' during
> conflict,
> and two 
> extraordinary cases of identicide in Bosnia and
> Afghanistan when 
> protection failed: the destruction of the
> Bridge
> of Mostar in 1993, 
> and the bombing of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001.
> Ms. Meharg visited 
> Bosnia and Croatia in the 2001 and will refer
> to
> this research trip 
> during her presentation. As well, the modes and
> methods of post-war 
> reconstruction will be introduced. 
> 
> Ms. Meharg's recent publication, "Identicide
> and
> Cultural 
> Cannibalism: Warfare's Appetite for Symbolic
> Place", Peace Research 
> Journal 33:3 (2001), 89-98. Copies will be
> available. 
> 
> Organized by National Capital Region Branch (
> info@ncrb.unac.org ) 
> of the United Nations Association in Canada
> (613)232-5751 ext.254 


=====
~.*.~Three classes of people will not receive the 
benediction of heaven: the oppressors, those who aid and abet oppression, and those who tolerate oppression~.*.~

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