From Memory of Place to Memory Places - A Contemporary Discussion on Remembering and Forgetting

Abstract

The subject and content of conservation extended since Venice Charter; so the set of values assigned to cultural heritage also changed. The set of values, previously assigned based on only historical and physical characteristics, are now appreciated to be socially constructed, knotted and experienced. According to contemporary value understanding, places become the subject of conservation studies not only being historically and artistically prised and authentic, but also due to symbolic and social values assigned. Especially those places on which common values are assigned by the society become integral part of urban memory in time. As collective memory find place itself on urban space and space collects and piles up memory in time, soon after the place of memory turns into a memory place. Memory places include socially constructed, experienced and knotted relations and transfer these relations to future generations.

Memory places that arouse common feelings and bring back common memories of social group are mostly being considered as common heritage and thus become the subject of conservation studies. Especially these studies stand out during the intention or act of removing such memory places – when the memory place is subjected to forgetting acts. Soon after memory places become the struggle places through which the society act together and develop strategies to safeguard its own collective memory – to be used for remembering. Within this context, it is argued that memory place turns into a double-acting place based on by whom it is managed: Subject of conservation by the society to be a means for remembering or act of scraping by the political power to be a tool for forgetting.

The main argument of the study is that urban space collects memories in time and it turns into a memory place – which should be the subject of conservation studies as they include attributed values by the society. The study argues the difficulty of protecting memory places without systematic conservation understanding. Therefore it tries to compose a relation between memory, place and conservation studies – by questioning how memory of place turns into memory places in time from the perspective of value assignment discussions. Hence, the study will first understand the formation and importance of memory places and then discuss reasons why and how memory places should be a subject of conservation studies – based on remembering and forgetting practices through well-known examples as World Trade Centre, Gezi Parkı or less-known local places as Ziyaret in Samadağ or Narlıkuyu in Mersin.