The research project investigates all memorials and other material items of remembrance addressing the political violence of Austrofascism and Nazism and have been erected in public spaces in Vienna since 1995. It tackles the following questions: Who are the protagonists of politics of remembrance in Vienna? How is it shaped and regulated? What meanings are ascribed to practices of remembrance? Which interpretation frames and narrative structures characterize the „memory boom“ in Vienna since 1995? Which changes to the form and usage of the public sphere are ascertainable?
The research is conducted with an interdisciplinary mix of methods to be applied along three research axes: 1. Investigation of the ways historical commemoration projects are proposed and negotiated, and the decision-making processes regarding their implementation with emphasis on mnemonic actors at the municipal, national, european and global level (policy analysis); 2. Analysis of the significance ascribed to politics of remembrance on the municipal, national, european and global level (discourse analysis); 3. Finally, the analysis of public spaces as places of remembrance in the area of tension and interplay between politics of history and everyday use and perception (socio-spatial analysis).
