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War and Memory on the National Mall

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War and Memory on the National Mall

In-Person Program

All-Day Tour

Friday, ​November 22, 2024 - ​10:30 a.m. ​to 5:00 p.m. ET​
Code: 1CD050
Location:
Tour meets at the entrance to the
S. Dillon Ripley Center
1100 Jefferson Dr SW
Metro: Smithsonian
Registration
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$106
Member
$156
Non-Member
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World War ll Memorial and Washington Monument

The words “history” and “memory” have closely related meanings. But to scholars, they mean very different things: “History” refers to the record of events from the past and “memory” to the process by which groups, institutions, and nations try to make sense of those events.

Monuments are a good example of where these two concepts intersect. They reflect a selective process: deciding what to commemorate, what the monument should look like, where it should go—as well as what ideas and themes should be ignored, obfuscated, or suppressed. Historians talk about “reading” a monument as a way to learn more about the relationship between the people who erect it and the historical event it pays tribute to.

War memorials can be especially fascinating and poignant places to practice these thinking skills, and there is no better place in the United States to think about the memory of conflict than on the National Mall. Historian and professor Christopher Hamner leads a day dedicated to four memorials on the Mall. Begin with a Ripley Center lecture on the distinctions between history and memory and an overview of the skills used to read a monument. After a boxed lunch, head out to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, and Ulysses S. Grant Memorial for hands-on exploration and discussion of the insights these memorials hold.

Know Before You Go

  • Tour participants meet at the S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW, Washington, DC. Note the program begins with a lecture inside the Ripley Center.
  • Tour includes a boxed lunch.
  • The tour will end at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.

General Information

  • Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
  • Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
  • As we aim to move away from single use water bottles, guests are strongly encouraged to get in the habit of bringing their own reusable water bottle on tour.
  • For additional tour information: