Towards a memory justice: Statues as epistemic battlegrounds

This article proposes an analysis of recent statue toppling events and their debates through the lens of epistemic injustice, against a background of theories and modes of cultural memory, in application to two case studies, one in the United Kingdom, and one in France. Through an analysis of the events surrounding the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol, UK, and the defacing, but ultimate non-removal of the Jean-Baptiste Colbert statue in Paris, France, against a backdrop of their respective nations’ heritage policies, the work will assess the extent to which the exploration of the epistemic battlegrounds of statues can be used to aim towards a memory justice.