Humanities Collaboratory Faculty Coordinator and U-M Professor of American Culture Kristin Hass is the author of a new book, Blunt Instruments: Recognizing Racist Cultural Infrastructure in Memorials, Museums, and Patriotic Practices, published in January 2023.
Blunt Instruments is “a field guide to the memorials, museums, and practices that commemorate white supremacy in the United States – and how to reimagine a more deeply shared cultural infrastructure for the future.”
In a review, Dr. Lisa Yun Lee writes, “Kristin Hass provides concise historical context, new language, and a powerful analysis that makes it impossible to see or unsee the world around us in the same way ever again. The lesson of this book is clear: cultural infrastructure plays a huge role in maintaining crushing inequities.” Read more.
For anyone and everyone interested in creating a more socially just world, this is essential reading!
Dr. Lisa Yun Lee, Executive Director, National Public Housing Museum
If you have ever wanted to understand how and why monuments work, this stunning book is your decoder ring.
Tiya Miles, Author of All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake