A Victim's Shoe, a Broken Watch, and Marbles - by Lea David

About the Book

Lea David examines how artifacts of atrocities circulate and, in so doing, sheds new light on the institutions and social processes that shape collective memory of human rights abuses.

Book Synopsis

Everyday items found at the sites of atrocities possess a striking emotional force. Victims' garments, broken glasses, wallets, shoes, and other such personal property that are recovered from places of death including concentration camps, mass graves, and prisons have become staples of memorial museums, exhibited to the public as material testimony in order to evoke sympathy and promote human rights. How do these objects take on such power, and what are the benefits and pitfalls of deploying them for political purposes?

A Victim's Shoe, a Broken Watch, and Marbles examines how artifacts of atrocities circulate and, in so doing, sheds new light on the institutions and social processes that shape collective memory of human rights abuses. Lea David traces the journeys of what she terms "desire objects" their rediscovery at the locations of mass atrocities, their use in forensic and legal procedures, their return to the homes of grieving families, their appearance in public spaces such as museums and exhibitions, and their role in political protests. She critically investigates the logic that shapes why and how desire objects gain symbolic power and political significance, showing when and under what circumstances they are used to promote particular worldviews and narratives. Featuring both novel theoretical methods and keen empirical analysis, this book offers important insights into the shortcomings of common assumptions about human rights.

Review Quotes

Lea David's vivid writing traces the paths of 'desire objects' connected to persons and their tragic deaths in acts of war and genocide and how the moral labor invested in their various public trajectories gives substance to an evolving ideology of human rights. This is a highly innovative and thought-provoking book.--Jonathan Hearn, author of The Domestication of Competition: Social Evolution and Liberal Society

What happens to the literal remains of atrocity, the personal objects it leaves behind? In this difficult and moving book, Lea David shows how personal possessions become what she calls 'desire objects' as they move from the forensic site through the homes of the survivors to the public sphere of museums and display. So much more than mere things, they are shaped by, and vehicles of, ideology and meaning. A signal contribution to moral sociology from one of its most creative practitioners.--Jeffrey K. Olick, author of The Politics of Regret: On Collective Memory and Historical Responsibility

With her study of "desire objects," Lea David crucially highlights the ideological infrastructure of our contemporary moral remembrance. Written from the perspective of critical sociology, this book is a key contribution to the fields of both memory studies and material culture.--Sarah Gensburger, author of Beyond Memory: Can We Really Learn From the Past?

About the Author

Lea David is an assistant professor in the School of Sociology, University College Dublin. She is the author of The Past Can't Heal Us: The Dangers of Mandating Memory in the Name of Human Rights (2020).