Written in Stone: Public Monuments in Changing Societies

Public Planet Books

by Sanford Levinson

Twentieth Anniversary Edition with a new preface and afterword

From the removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans in the spring of 2017 to the violent aftermath of the white nationalist march on the Robert E. Lee monument in Charlottesville later that summer, debates and conflicts over the memorialization of Confederate “heroes” have stormed to the forefront of popular American political and cultural discourse. In Written in Stone Sanford Levinson considers the tangled responses to controversial monuments and commemorations while examining how those with political power configure public spaces in ways that shape public memory and politics. Paying particular attention to the American South, though drawing examples as well from elsewhere in the United States and throughout the world, Levinson shows how the social and legal arguments regarding the display, construction, modification, and destruction of public monuments mark the seemingly endless confrontation over the symbolism attached to public space.

This twentieth anniversary edition of Written in Stone includes a new preface and an extensive afterword that takes account of recent events in cities, schools and universities, and public spaces throughout the United States and elsewhere. Twenty years on, Levinson's work is more timely and relevant than ever.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, American History, Architecture, World History, War

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 1998

About the author

Sanford Victor Levinson is a prominent American liberal law professor and acknowledged expert on Constitutional law and legal scholar and professor of government at the University of Texas Law School. He is notable for his criticism of the United States Constitution as well as excessive presidential power and has been widely quoted on such topics as the Second Amendment, gay marriage, nominations to the Supreme Court, and other legal issues. He has called for a Second Constitutional Convention of the United States.

Reviews

[Pippa Catterall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This provides an unusual angle on a controversial subject as Levinson approaches the politicised debate around statues and their social significance or otherwise as a constitutional lawyer. He wisely eschews any kind of guideline approach, pointing out how problematic existing attempts are. Yet he does offer a useful framework for thinking about these issues. It’s also interesting to see how he revisits his original text, first published in 1998, twenty years later. In the interim the culture wars in his native US intensified and the statue debate moved on a little, though it nonetheless already feels a little dated five years on in light of subsequent events.

[Larry Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book, more relevant now than ever

With all the controversy on monuments, Levinson argues that the state is not a neutral party and that we need to deal with it head on. Levinson recognizes that the victors or the majority choose and that it may make sense for the statues to stay as a historical matter or that the alternative destruction may be worse.

[Karla Kitalong]

A legal scholar's view of the destruction of monuments and symbols. I agree with him: it is arguably better to contextualize (or recontextualize) the symbols than to destroy or erase them.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick little read about how even though memorials often seem permanent and timeless, they are part of a changing political and cultural landscape. Sanford Levinson explores how regime and government styles in Eastern Europe influence how monuments are treated and how some are even disposed. He then turns his focus to the United States and how this process is different, especially with American Civil War monuments. Part of this includes the discussion of the use of the Confederate battle flag in government spaces. It is an interesting discussion on how history, collective memory and physical space all interact. Levinson describes his background as being a constitutional scholar and his interaction with public memory and monuments from a legal standpoint presents some interesting views on how change to public monuments can be accomplished.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A distinguished professor of constitutional law comments on how public space is organized to convey desired political lessons. Public space includes not only statues and monuments, but the names on buildings and streets and even state songs and school mascots.
Although this is an older title (and the battle flag atop the South Carolina state house has since been removed) I still found this essay helpful. The tension between current values and historic preservation has not lessened since 1998 and in fact may be increasing. Levinson provides a range of options to address these conflicts.