IDEA research seminar: Why state-sponsored vandalism is not the answer to tainted commemorations
- Date: Wednesday 13 March 2024, 12:00 – 13:30
- Location: Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied
- Cost: Free (this is a hybrid event)
Part of the IDEA research seminar series
Speaker: Carl Fox (IDEA)
What should we do about monuments honouring individuals who are closely associated with hateful beliefs?
One proposal, which has gained some prominence in the burgeoning literature on this subject, is that we should vandalise these monuments as a form of counter-speech repudiating those people and their noxious views. In this talk, I will consider a development of this idea, which holds that not only is vandalism sometimes an appropriate response for activists, but is also something that the state should permit, facilitate, and even commission.
I will argue that this takes a sensible idea too far, and that states should eschew vandalism and instead replace such monuments in order to engage in a fresh act of communication with the public.
You can attend in person at Seminar Room 2, 17 Blenheim Terrace (IDEA Building) or join on Teams