The Nanovic Institute for European Studies established memory and remembering as a core research priority in its 2021-26 Strategic Plan, emphasizing that memory is more than a personal experience. Collective memory, the type of memory that groups share, shapes how people experience the world today. But those collective memories are often contested, as politics is inextricably linked to them. In this context, places play an important role. They become sites where these debates unfold and offer a way to explore the conflicted history that influences the present.
To engage students in this dialogue in Europe, the Nanovic Institute has organized a multi-year student project titled “Sites of Memory in Contemporary Europe.” This project aims to compile a database of sites of contested memory—whether they be monuments, historic locations, buildings, or other types of sites. Students already traveling in Europe during summer breaks may apply to be part of the project. They then choose a site near where they will be in Europe and write a reflective analysis of the contested memories surrounding it.
The project completed its first full cycle with student responses collected during the summer of 2024, documenting 27 sites across Europe. It now holds a trove of information, analyses, and a catalog of the sometimes unseen historical and social factors that shape life in Europe today.
In his piece on the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, Demetrios Fotopoulos ’25 notes that “when considering how we remember ancient history in a European context, it is important to pay attention to how and where it is presented.” He makes this observation in the context of the controversy over whether artifacts from the Acropolis should be returned to Greece from the United Kingdom, but the sentiment applies to all the sites in the project. Each student's reflection encounters this reality and finds ways in which the physical site engages with collective memory, history, and political life.
Reflecting on this dynamic, Anna Buckler ’27 writes that “monuments can sometimes be imperfect repositories for difficult pasts” but she commends the Monument of Salvation in Sofia, Bulgaria, for its ability to capture both sorrow for lives lost to the Treblinka death camp and celebration for those saved. This duality exemplifies the aims of the wider project.
The Nanovic Institute for European Studies is grateful for the participation of 22 undergraduate students in the first summer of the Sites of Memory in Contemporary Europe project.
“monuments can sometimes be imperfect repositories for difficult pasts” - Anna Buckler
Applications to participate in the project during the summer of 2025 are open and due by June 20, 2025. Any student traveling or studying in Europe may apply.
Start your application for the 2025 cycle
This project will serve as a growing body of reflections to add to the wider dialogue on memory and remembering in Europe; the institute is particularly interested in proposals to engage with sites that are less well-known internationally but have a particular meaning for a local community.