‘Landscapes of remembrance’ and sites of conscience: exploring ways of learning beyond militarising ‘maps’ of the future

Abstract

War memorials and related exhibition spaces are commonplace in Australian cities and towns. As critically reflected upon in this paper, there is much ‘hidden’ or alternative history that tends to get ignored when it comes to official memorials and conventional places of remembrance. The particular focus of our paper is the exploration of the peace-building and educational potential of site visits to a number of memorial places that differ, in significant ways, from national war memorials, war museums and battlefield tourism. As illustrated by the various case studies in this paper, there may be alternative, dissenting sites of memory/remembering that question selective remembering and militarising historical myths. Each of these ‘sites of conscience’ may offer, as discussed in this paper, significant opportunities for experiential learning and critical reflection on peace-related issues. The authors offer some reflections on these sites, the histories of the sites, and possible peace education implications. Our paper invites follow-up research and reflection on whether there are many other such ‘sites of conscience’ that peace educators may draw upon whether in Australia, Japan or internationally. Key issues include how such site visits and learning trails may excite curiosity cross-culturally among students about nonviolent, life-affirming alternatives to militarised ‘maps’ about the future.