Abstract
As the materialized representation of collective memory, memorials have become important carriers for communication with the past. Based on the accumulation of long-term research on memorials for workers’ occupational injuries, this paper aims to investigate the visible and invisible female contributions in labor memorials in Taiwan. From the present gender frame, we look back to the political and economic realities of the year, weaving complex but diverse collective memories. Women’s labor expenditures are often ignored structurally. There are neither credits based on celebrating engineering achievements nor their turn to commemorate labor sacrifices. Collective memory is socially constructed. This paper explores the invisible and pays attention to the few recorded. Between visible and invisible, it reveals the connection between contemporary gender and labor issues. The development and contemporary meaning of labor memorials in Taiwan are explored in this paper with the goal of reclassifying monument studies as an academic field that promotes public awareness of the issue of occupational injuries and the active politicization of this issue. From the perspective of collective memory and gender studies, this project explores the representation of women in public space, and how women’s contributions are erased due to gender differences in collective mourning.
Presenters
Yu-ling Kuassistant professor, Graduate Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies on Creative Writing and Literature, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2021 Special Focus: What Museums Post Pandemic?
KEYWORDS
Labor Memorials, Gender Division of Labor, Collective Memories, Public Space
