Historic Preservation by Diane Barthel

Historic Preservation can occur for several different reasons, motives, and results. The book Historic Preservation: Collective Memory and Historical Identity explores the differences in the preservation movements between the U.S. and Britain. It’s especially interesting to note the two different reasons for the beginning of the movement. In the U.S. it was driven by a patriotic motive, while in Britain it was motivated by intellectual and artistic means. Barthel begins by describing the two areas progression in historic preservation, and does so quite well. One of the main themes that Barthel attempts to explain and explore is that of authenticity, which according to our author runs quite a gamut of options. She also explores the cultural capital of a nation, the concept of Utopia in staged symbolic communities.
An interesting moment in the book is when she explains on page 57 that the German word for monument is Denkmal, which can be literally translated as “occasion for reflection”. This leads to an interesting line of thought. Monuments really are an occasion for reflection. Just think of the monuments that span our own campus. Do they make you reflect on the meaning?, on the artistry?, or something else? I know that some of them make me stop and wonder what occasion was seen as important enough to need or deserve a monument. On that same page she goes on to explain how industrial ruins have become denkmals. Within this chapter, Barthel does a good job at explaining the differences between historical artifacts. She does this through looking at industrial ruins and how they have been utilized in both countries.
Barthel also explains the preservation and usage of war ruins and remembrance. She discusses how the Civil War Battlefields have always attracted tourists and how this buzz helps to stimulate the nearby economies. She also discusses how the new social history has changed what is today considered an artifact. One of the best examples of this is the package of cookies from the Gulf War. Prior to the new social history movement, a package of cookies would have rarely been held as a museum piece. The British preservation of this war is quite similar as well, as she notes that they preserved plastic cups, etc.
This book is an interesting look at the movement of historic preservation and its uses to form a collective identity and a historical identity. Objects and how they are displayed and preserved can aid in how people view themselves. Barthel does a good job with this book, and writes from a modernist form. She compares Britain and the U.S.’s preservationist movements. The U.S. appears to take a more capitalistic approach while Britain tends to take a more elitist view. This book makes sense once it becomes clear that Diane Barthel is a sociologist. She looks at the collective movement of preservation and the meaning that it can span between nations. This book is a more technical read, but still a good one.