ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the potential of monuments as a teaching tool. It illustrates monuments as opportunities for students to analyze historical perspectives, evaluate historical significance, and connect the past with the present. Monuments and memorials are among the most common ways our society remembers the past. There are thousands of monuments across the United States, with most cities and towns adorned by their presence. Monuments honor the dead, commemorate victory in war, celebrate milestones in politics, science, education, industry, and social history, and can promote healing and reflection. The chapter provides an overview of the role of monuments in remembering the past and monuments' unique features. The Stolpersteine project is a microcosm of monuments and memorials covering many events and people all over the world. The chapter presents two cases centered on monuments erected to remember and commemorate the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and concludes with suggestions for effective activities with monuments.
