A conversation about why and how monuments matter, and about the stories behind the torch-bearing white nationalists worshiping at the feet of Confederate monuments in 2017.

Join the conversation and hear what humanities scholars Walter Johnson (history and African American studies, Harvard University), Matthew Countryman (American culture), Kristin Hass (American culture) and Scotti Parrish (English) with moderator Angela Dillard (Afroamerican and African studies) are saying about high stakes culture now.

We’ll ask questions like:

*Who built the monuments, and when and why were they built?
*How does the memorialization of the past matter to the present?
*Should a new understanding of history shape the way we interpret monuments to the past?

Join the conversation and hear what humanities scholars are saying about high stakes culture, and what we may have to gain when we lose.

About the series:

In the last few months a series of “culture wars” have been ignited across the country. Activists from all points of the political spectrum, even the President of the United States himself, are turning to beloved cultural objects to stake a claim for their differing beliefs in a politically fraught moment. Black athletes are taking a knee. Anti-immigration voters are rallying for a wall. Long-standing Confederate monuments are coming down.

What is at stake in the ways we understand culture and cultural conflict? High Stakes Culture is a new series, presented by the Institute for the Humanities and the Humanities Collaboratory, that brings humanities perspectives to bear on current debates. Join us as we ask: How and why does culture matter so much now?