Abstract

In recent decades the study human geography has become an increasingly enlightening mode of analysis in the historian's repertoire. One area in which this method has proved insightful is in the exploration of the various ways that interpretations of the past in public places shape the public consciousness. Works on this topic have primarily been broad studies that look at public representations of the past regionally, nationally, or even globally. This study seeks to provide a more nuanced perspective on the complex ways in which public memory and place are created, and continually shaped, through a case study which takes an in-depth look at this process in one locale. This comparative analysis of Jacksonville, Florida's Hemming and Memorial Parks throughout the twentieth century explores how monuments, commemorative events, and historical discourses act as rhetorical devices which promote partisan ideologies within public parks, which shape the public perception of the both the past and the present. In particular, this study explores the revitalization campaigns of Hemming and Memorial Parks in the last quarter of the century to demonstrate how the rhetoric of public memory has been used strategically to recreate the public perception of each park in an effort to control access to and behavior within each park.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2016

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Cassanello, Robert

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

History

Degree Program

History; Public History

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0006125

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006125

Language

English

Release Date

May 2016

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Download

Share

COinS