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Terrorism in American Memory
The role of cultural memory in American identity
Terrorism in American Memory argues that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and all that followed in its wake were the primary force shaping United States politics and culture in the post-9/11 era. Marita Sturken maintains that during the past two decades, when the country was subjected to terrorist attacks and promulgated ongoing wars of aggression, we have veered into increasingly polarized factions and been extraordinarily preoccupied with memorialization and the politics of memory.
The post-9/11 era began with a hunger for memorialization and it ended with massive protests over police brutality that demanded the destruction of historical monuments honoring racist historical figures. Sturken argues that memory is both the battleground and the site for negotiations of national identity because it is a field through which the past is experienced in the present. The paradox of these last two decades is that it gave rise to an era of intensely nationalistic politics in response to global terrorism at the same time that it released the containment of the ghosts of terrorism embedded within US history. And within that disruption, new stories emerged, new memories were unearthed, and the story of the nation is being rewritten. For these reasons, this book argues that the post-9/11 era has come to an end, and we are now in a new still undefined era with new priorities and national demands.
An era preoccupied with memory thus begins with the memorial projects of 9/11 and ends with the radical intervention of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the Lynching Memorial, in Montgomery, Alabama, a project that, unlike the nationalistic 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, dramatically rewrites the national script of American history. Woven within analyses of memorialization, memorials, memory museums, art projects on memory, and architectural projects is a discussion about design and architecture, the increased creation of memorials as experiences, and the role of architecture as national symbolism and renewal. Terrorism in American Memory sheds light on the struggles over who is memorialized, who is forgotten, and what that politics of memory reveals about the United States as an imaginary and a nation.
Terrorism in American Memory argues that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and all that followed in its wake were the primary force shaping United States politics and culture in the post-9/11 era. Marita Sturken maintains that during the past two decades, when the country was subjected to terrorist attacks and promulgated ongoing wars of aggression, we have veered into increasingly polarized factions and been extraordinarily preoccupied with memorialization and the politics of memory.
The post-9/11 era began with a hunger for memorialization and it ended with massive protests over police brutality that demanded the destruction of historical monuments honoring racist historical figures. Sturken argues that memory is both the battleground and the site for negotiations of national identity because it is a field through which the past is experienced in the present. The paradox of these last two decades is that it gave rise to an era of intensely nationalistic politics in response to global terrorism at the same time that it released the containment of the ghosts of terrorism embedded within US history. And within that disruption, new stories emerged, new memories were unearthed, and the story of the nation is being rewritten. For these reasons, this book argues that the post-9/11 era has come to an end, and we are now in a new still undefined era with new priorities and national demands.
An era preoccupied with memory thus begins with the memorial projects of 9/11 and ends with the radical intervention of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the Lynching Memorial, in Montgomery, Alabama, a project that, unlike the nationalistic 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, dramatically rewrites the national script of American history. Woven within analyses of memorialization, memorials, memory museums, art projects on memory, and architectural projects is a discussion about design and architecture, the increased creation of memorials as experiences, and the role of architecture as national symbolism and renewal. Terrorism in American Memory sheds light on the struggles over who is memorialized, who is forgotten, and what that politics of memory reveals about the United States as an imaginary and a nation.
- GenresNonfictionTerrorism
329 pages, Paperback
Published October 18, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 8, 2023
I was completely enamored with this book from an academic lens. This is exactly the kind of thing I have been looking for, as I’m constantly questioning the near sacred status 9/11 has in American culture & the way we memorialize things. So many things covered in this book are exactly what I hope to study in future academic pursuits, and the thesis of the 9/11 era ending with the events of 2020-2021 was so fascinating. I did find the conclusion quite brief, and it ended on a very weird short note about memorializing covid, that I feel like the author threw in there without deconstructing it properly, as she did the other examples, and that was rather disappointing after a book I found so fascinating overall.
I also appreciated the very thorough museum descriptions so that I do not feel the need to pay $26 to visit the 9/11 museum.
~4.5/5 stars.
I also appreciated the very thorough museum descriptions so that I do not feel the need to pay $26 to visit the 9/11 museum.
~4.5/5 stars.
January 15, 2026
I wrote a review of this book for a McMaster University course in April 2024 (PEACJUST 3Y03), in relation to the ongoing Palestinian genocide, so I'm just gonna copy-paste the full thing here, haha. I would've written it a bit differently today, but I did quite well on it at the time, so here you go!
Review of Terrorism in American Memory by Marita Sturken:
Marita Sturken’s Terrorism in American Memory is an in-depth exploration of the role of cultural memory in the post-9/11 era of American culture–an era that begins with 9/11 memorialization and ends with battles over the memory of racial injustice. The book argues that 9/11 was a primary shaping force in US politics and culture, and states that this post-9/11 era came to a close with the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests of 2020. Moreover, Sturken’s analysis of the proliferation of 9/11 memorials following the terrorist acts examines what is considered to be “grievable life” in the American context, highlighting the marginalization of certain narratives within the broader discussion of national mourning. This discourse is evident in the polarization of factions in the USA, resulting in the rise of nationalistic politics and the erasure of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As she navigates through the landscape of post-9/11 America, Sturken exposes the fissures within the fabric of collective memory, prompting critical reflection on the concept of national identity and the USA’s role in global politics.
Throughout the beginning half of the book, Sturken meticulously inspects various 9/11 memorials, investigating the effects these artworks have on the general public’s perception of 9/11. This deliberation provides insight into the manipulation of public knowledge surrounding the post 9/11 Wars on Terror and the education provided to US citizens surrounding terrorism. However, the detail in which the memorials are individually scrutinized is slightly repetitive at times, thus resulting in the reader losing engagement with the material presented. As such, attention is taken away from the overall effect of these memorials, and the reader is instead encouraged to analyze the specific elements of various art forms. These specificities, while interesting to some, may not be as relevant as promised to the themes presented throughout the introduction of the book. Perhaps an approach involving further discussion surrounding the misrepresentation, miseducation, and misinterpretation of 9/11 memorials as they relate to the US public would prove to be a more effective portrayal of the USA’s relationship with foreign and domestic terrorism.
Nevertheless, as the book progresses, a comparison of 9/11 memorials to memorials of other major national events is finally explored. For example, attention is drawn to the contrasting conversations presented by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the National Lynching Memorial. Sturken highlights the National Lynching Memorial's ability to critique the USA’s history of racial terrorism regarding the enslavement and lynching of African Americans. This memorial evokes critical reflection of domestic terrorism and racial injustice in the USA, inherently destroying the United States' image of innocence–a concept often presented in 9/11 memorials. By encouraging citizens to focus on the terrorist acts of 9/11 through over-memorialization, public perception is manipulated. Without proper contextualization and education of the USA’s role in conflicts overseas, 9/11 is believed to be an attack of the dangerous “Other” upon an innocent nation. This lack of education is a driving force in the oppression of marginalized groups around the world, proving to be a weapon for silencing their efforts in seeking justice or simply having their struggles acknowledged in global political climates.
To continue, Sturken relates the contradicting narratives presented by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice to the rise of political unrest during the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd. As issues surrounding US police brutality against Black Americans were brought into the national discussion, national identity as a whole began to be questioned. Additionally, when the US Capitol was attacked on January 6, 2021, by a mob of right-wing supporters of President Donald Trump, US domestic terrorism started to be more broadly acknowledged as a threat to US society. The book argues that the challenging of national identity during this period thus ended the post-9/11 era of misinformation and the perceived image of American innocence, again highlighting the importance of public education.
While reasonable and convincing evidence is provided throughout the book to solidify the end of the post-9/11 era in the US, one may argue that the concepts presented throughout the book must be re-evaluated in light of recent events. On October 7, 2023, the world’s attention was once again drawn to another act of terrorism, this time involving the attack of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement, Hamas, on the Apartheid State of Israel. The State of Israel was officially created in 1948, occurring alongside the Nakba, in which over 750,000 Palestinians were illegally displaced from their land, thus making them refugees. Since then, Israel has constructed numerous settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, considered illegal under international law. Furthermore, the national military of Israel, the Israeli Defence Forces, has launched numerous violent assaults on the Palestinian people for the past 75 years of illegal occupation, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians.
Despite the long history of Palestinian oppression by the State of Israel, the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was responded to by the USA with a deliberate disregard for context. Similarly to the way 9/11 was perceived by the general public, people unaware of the 75-year-long illegal occupation of Palestine believed that October 7th was the beginning of this crisis–one that involved the attack of the dangerous “Other”, Hamas, on an “innocent” nation, the State of Israel. This belief assumes Israel’s innocence and therefore justifies Israel’s brutal response to the events of October 7th. Since that day, as of April 19, 2024, more than 34,012 Palestinians have been killed and 76,833 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks.
The USA is not only negligent in this crisis, but also plays an active role in the oppression of the Palestinian people through its military, diplomatic, and political support of Israel. This support has translated into the misrepresentative US media coverage of the crisis, thus manipulating the US public's opinions and stances on the topic. Therefore, while the book argues that the USA is no longer in the post-9/11 era, it is interesting that the very principles which guided the USA’s public understanding of terrorism during the post-9/11 era have led to the misinformed judgments observed in response to the events of October 7th, 2023. This is evident in the rise of anti-Palestinian racism, hate crimes against Arabs and against Muslims in the USA, and increasing censorship and surveillance of anyone demonstrating solidarity with the Palestinian people, all of which were aspects prevalent during the post-9/11 social climate.
It is worth noting, however, that the public conversation since October 7th has shifted in response to growing social media awareness of the terrorist acts of Israel. Many Palestinian journalists living in Gaza started using social media to post the atrocities committed by the Israeli Defence Forces since October 7th, and have gained massive followings. For the first time in history, the general public has been mass-exposed to video evidence of genocide, provided in real-time as it is occurring. As the general population has become more aware of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, public discourse surrounding the issue has generally turned in support of the Palestinian people and their cause. Due to this, Israel’s claims of innocence began to be challenged, and people started to examine the existence of the state of Israel itself through a critical lens, much like during the political unrest in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic. As attention started being drawn toward the USA’s history of domestic terrorism, the entire foundation of the state itself began to be challenged. This critique unveiled oppressive structures that form the foundation of the US government and American society. The root of these oppressive structures traces back to the USA’s history of colonization and racism, akin to the existence of the Apartheid State of Israel and its illegal occupation of Palestine.
What may be the most prominent takeaway from the book is the importance of contextualized education. It is crucial to seek out diverse and differing viewpoints when consuming media, to challenge bias and encourage critical reflection/perspective. Overall, the concepts introduced in Sturken’s analysis of the post-9/11 era in America have proven applicable to other examples of terrorism witnessed globally, providing a nuanced understanding of how public perception and education shape global discourse and thus influence legislative action. Furthermore, the book supplies a historically informed comprehension of the USA’s relationship to foreign politics and terrorism. As the USA holds major global political, military, and diplomatic power, this conception is extremely relevant, especially as it relates to the genocide in Palestine. While the initial general responses to the events of October 7, 2023, have been disheartening, more recent global views on the crisis have restored a sense of hope for justice for the Palestinian people. If Americans claim to be in the post-9/11 era, they must also be critical of their government's exploitation of marginalized groups within their country and overseas. The social hypocrisy of the United States can only be corrected when its declarations of economic and political freedom are no longer reliant on profits from foreign and domestic investments sustaining systems of oppression.
Work Cited:
Khalidi, Rashid. Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East. Beacon Press, 2005.
Lukianoff, Greg. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. Penguin Books, 2019.
McQuade, Barbara. Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America. Seven Stories Press, 2024.
Stephens, Suzanne. Imagining Ground Zero: The Official and Unofficial Proposals for the World Trade Center Site. Rizzoli, 2004.
Sturken, Marita. Terrorism in American Memory: Memorials, Museums, and Architecture in the Post-9/11 Era. New York University Press, 2022.
Review of Terrorism in American Memory by Marita Sturken:
Marita Sturken’s Terrorism in American Memory is an in-depth exploration of the role of cultural memory in the post-9/11 era of American culture–an era that begins with 9/11 memorialization and ends with battles over the memory of racial injustice. The book argues that 9/11 was a primary shaping force in US politics and culture, and states that this post-9/11 era came to a close with the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests of 2020. Moreover, Sturken’s analysis of the proliferation of 9/11 memorials following the terrorist acts examines what is considered to be “grievable life” in the American context, highlighting the marginalization of certain narratives within the broader discussion of national mourning. This discourse is evident in the polarization of factions in the USA, resulting in the rise of nationalistic politics and the erasure of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As she navigates through the landscape of post-9/11 America, Sturken exposes the fissures within the fabric of collective memory, prompting critical reflection on the concept of national identity and the USA’s role in global politics.
Throughout the beginning half of the book, Sturken meticulously inspects various 9/11 memorials, investigating the effects these artworks have on the general public’s perception of 9/11. This deliberation provides insight into the manipulation of public knowledge surrounding the post 9/11 Wars on Terror and the education provided to US citizens surrounding terrorism. However, the detail in which the memorials are individually scrutinized is slightly repetitive at times, thus resulting in the reader losing engagement with the material presented. As such, attention is taken away from the overall effect of these memorials, and the reader is instead encouraged to analyze the specific elements of various art forms. These specificities, while interesting to some, may not be as relevant as promised to the themes presented throughout the introduction of the book. Perhaps an approach involving further discussion surrounding the misrepresentation, miseducation, and misinterpretation of 9/11 memorials as they relate to the US public would prove to be a more effective portrayal of the USA’s relationship with foreign and domestic terrorism.
Nevertheless, as the book progresses, a comparison of 9/11 memorials to memorials of other major national events is finally explored. For example, attention is drawn to the contrasting conversations presented by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the National Lynching Memorial. Sturken highlights the National Lynching Memorial's ability to critique the USA’s history of racial terrorism regarding the enslavement and lynching of African Americans. This memorial evokes critical reflection of domestic terrorism and racial injustice in the USA, inherently destroying the United States' image of innocence–a concept often presented in 9/11 memorials. By encouraging citizens to focus on the terrorist acts of 9/11 through over-memorialization, public perception is manipulated. Without proper contextualization and education of the USA’s role in conflicts overseas, 9/11 is believed to be an attack of the dangerous “Other” upon an innocent nation. This lack of education is a driving force in the oppression of marginalized groups around the world, proving to be a weapon for silencing their efforts in seeking justice or simply having their struggles acknowledged in global political climates.
To continue, Sturken relates the contradicting narratives presented by the National Memorial for Peace and Justice to the rise of political unrest during the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd. As issues surrounding US police brutality against Black Americans were brought into the national discussion, national identity as a whole began to be questioned. Additionally, when the US Capitol was attacked on January 6, 2021, by a mob of right-wing supporters of President Donald Trump, US domestic terrorism started to be more broadly acknowledged as a threat to US society. The book argues that the challenging of national identity during this period thus ended the post-9/11 era of misinformation and the perceived image of American innocence, again highlighting the importance of public education.
While reasonable and convincing evidence is provided throughout the book to solidify the end of the post-9/11 era in the US, one may argue that the concepts presented throughout the book must be re-evaluated in light of recent events. On October 7, 2023, the world’s attention was once again drawn to another act of terrorism, this time involving the attack of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement, Hamas, on the Apartheid State of Israel. The State of Israel was officially created in 1948, occurring alongside the Nakba, in which over 750,000 Palestinians were illegally displaced from their land, thus making them refugees. Since then, Israel has constructed numerous settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, considered illegal under international law. Furthermore, the national military of Israel, the Israeli Defence Forces, has launched numerous violent assaults on the Palestinian people for the past 75 years of illegal occupation, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians.
Despite the long history of Palestinian oppression by the State of Israel, the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was responded to by the USA with a deliberate disregard for context. Similarly to the way 9/11 was perceived by the general public, people unaware of the 75-year-long illegal occupation of Palestine believed that October 7th was the beginning of this crisis–one that involved the attack of the dangerous “Other”, Hamas, on an “innocent” nation, the State of Israel. This belief assumes Israel’s innocence and therefore justifies Israel’s brutal response to the events of October 7th. Since that day, as of April 19, 2024, more than 34,012 Palestinians have been killed and 76,833 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks.
The USA is not only negligent in this crisis, but also plays an active role in the oppression of the Palestinian people through its military, diplomatic, and political support of Israel. This support has translated into the misrepresentative US media coverage of the crisis, thus manipulating the US public's opinions and stances on the topic. Therefore, while the book argues that the USA is no longer in the post-9/11 era, it is interesting that the very principles which guided the USA’s public understanding of terrorism during the post-9/11 era have led to the misinformed judgments observed in response to the events of October 7th, 2023. This is evident in the rise of anti-Palestinian racism, hate crimes against Arabs and against Muslims in the USA, and increasing censorship and surveillance of anyone demonstrating solidarity with the Palestinian people, all of which were aspects prevalent during the post-9/11 social climate.
It is worth noting, however, that the public conversation since October 7th has shifted in response to growing social media awareness of the terrorist acts of Israel. Many Palestinian journalists living in Gaza started using social media to post the atrocities committed by the Israeli Defence Forces since October 7th, and have gained massive followings. For the first time in history, the general public has been mass-exposed to video evidence of genocide, provided in real-time as it is occurring. As the general population has become more aware of Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people, public discourse surrounding the issue has generally turned in support of the Palestinian people and their cause. Due to this, Israel’s claims of innocence began to be challenged, and people started to examine the existence of the state of Israel itself through a critical lens, much like during the political unrest in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic. As attention started being drawn toward the USA’s history of domestic terrorism, the entire foundation of the state itself began to be challenged. This critique unveiled oppressive structures that form the foundation of the US government and American society. The root of these oppressive structures traces back to the USA’s history of colonization and racism, akin to the existence of the Apartheid State of Israel and its illegal occupation of Palestine.
What may be the most prominent takeaway from the book is the importance of contextualized education. It is crucial to seek out diverse and differing viewpoints when consuming media, to challenge bias and encourage critical reflection/perspective. Overall, the concepts introduced in Sturken’s analysis of the post-9/11 era in America have proven applicable to other examples of terrorism witnessed globally, providing a nuanced understanding of how public perception and education shape global discourse and thus influence legislative action. Furthermore, the book supplies a historically informed comprehension of the USA’s relationship to foreign politics and terrorism. As the USA holds major global political, military, and diplomatic power, this conception is extremely relevant, especially as it relates to the genocide in Palestine. While the initial general responses to the events of October 7, 2023, have been disheartening, more recent global views on the crisis have restored a sense of hope for justice for the Palestinian people. If Americans claim to be in the post-9/11 era, they must also be critical of their government's exploitation of marginalized groups within their country and overseas. The social hypocrisy of the United States can only be corrected when its declarations of economic and political freedom are no longer reliant on profits from foreign and domestic investments sustaining systems of oppression.
Work Cited:
Khalidi, Rashid. Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East. Beacon Press, 2005.
Lukianoff, Greg. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. Penguin Books, 2019.
McQuade, Barbara. Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America. Seven Stories Press, 2024.
Stephens, Suzanne. Imagining Ground Zero: The Official and Unofficial Proposals for the World Trade Center Site. Rizzoli, 2004.
Sturken, Marita. Terrorism in American Memory: Memorials, Museums, and Architecture in the Post-9/11 Era. New York University Press, 2022.
October 5, 2021
We will never forget! In the wake of the horrific events on 9/11, Americans vowed to never forget the tragic events of that day & the Americans we lost. But how do you memorialize the events in an honorable manner for those we lost on that September day in 2001? Marita Sturken methodically examines the memorial sites for 9/11 in New York, Washington DC & Shanksville, PA. While these memorials were meant to honor the victims of the September 11th attacks, they are also painful reminders for many family members. Moving beyond 9/11, how much have the events of 9/11 shaped us as a country? Are we more polarized as a nation based on our experiences of 9/11? Sturken expands the discussion by viewing the massive protests & police brutality in recent years via the lens of the equal justice work of Bryan Stevenson in Montgomery, Alabama. Like the memorials of 9/11, the National Memorial for Peace & Justice memorialize the tragic events of our nation’s dark past. Prior to its opening in 2018, no other memorial commemorated these events in such a detailed manner.
This was a wonderful read! I learned a great deal from this book & I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Having read Terrorism in American Memory, I plan to visit the sites of these memorials in the near future.
This was a wonderful read! I learned a great deal from this book & I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Having read Terrorism in American Memory, I plan to visit the sites of these memorials in the near future.
December 19, 2022
I liked Tangled Memories more than this. This feels like a book on 9/11 memory that was almost done in early 2020 and Sturken revised with a chapter on the lynching memorial and EJI museum. I was a little unconvinced of the argument.
January 15, 2022
Thank you to Netgalley and New York University Press for a free copy of this upcoming book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to start by saying this book is entirely fascinating. 9/11 is easily the most talked about event in American history. However, that being said this book placed the 20 years since the attack in contexts that I had never thought of and had never seen argued before. This text examines the post 9/11 era in order to analyze the ways that we as a country choose to remember the events, memorialize them, and rebuild in their wake. The book makes some great points about the way that New York and the public at large have chosen to remember the attacks but look away from the events that came after and our role in them. I thought the author made a lot of great points about the 9/11 museum and the "designed by committee" feel that it has taken as well as the hypocrisy of the consumerism of the site. However, perhaps the smartest thing the author does here is use the last chapter to explore an entirely different museum and memorial in Alabama that examines history of slavery and all of the oppression of African Americans that followed and continues to this day. The contrast to the 9/11 museum and the way that it forces the visitor to grapple with the effects of the actions of a nation was an incredibly powerful way to end the book.
March 27, 2025
This book by Marita Sturken was really interesting and not something I ever even stopped to think about. This book is handled with care and has a substantial bibliography accompanying it. I think the last chapter was the most interesting but I feel like it lacked a little in tying it to the book as a whole and it seemed to end the book rather abruptly.
February 28, 2022
I’ve heard about 9/11 for as long as I could remember. But this book put it in a context that was different than how I was taught it. It was interesting and new.
Thank you net galley for the arc copy.
Thank you net galley for the arc copy.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews