Nicholas S. Paliewicz and Marouf Hasian Jr. <em>The Securitization of Memorial Space: Rhetoric and Public Memory</em>.

Abstract

In The Securitization of Memorial Space: Rhetoric and Public Memory, Nicholas S. Paliewicz and Marouf Hasian Jr. train a darkly analytical lens on New York City’s Ground Zero in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and the debate around how to memorialize the events of that day. The authors explore how various objects at Ground Zero were infused with political meaning and deployed like weapons by myriad actors in both the smaller battle for control of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and the larger Global War on Terror. Hasian and Paliewicz are writing from backgrounds in rhetorical and critical security studies, and at times their writing can be a little opaque to those not fluent in the vocabulary of those fields. The authors also describe their approach as “object oriented,” a methodology that should sound familiar to anyone working in special collections today (23).