The Storyteller's legacy: Materiality, commemoration, and the geography of historical markers

This study explores the geography of commemoration through the lens of historical markers, focusing on their materiality, which we define as size, matter, art style, and location. While commemorative studies have largely emphasized symbolic and ideological meanings, this paper shifts attention to the physical markers themselves, examining how their form and placement shape public memory. Drawing on David Lowenthal's framework of selective memory and Kenneth Foote's typology of memorialization, we compare three commemorative programs: Texas Historical Markers (USA), Stolpersteine (Europe), and the Seoul Historical Cultural Markers (South Korea). Each case reveals distinct approaches to material commemoration: Texas' expansive, state-sponsored program evolves through textual revisions and relocations; Stolpersteine function as micro-scale counter-memorials embedded in daily life; and Seoul's city-wide initiative reflects selective historical narratives and urban redevelopment. Our analysis highlights how materiality influences historical interpretation, accessibility, and contestation. By re-centering commemoration on the storyteller — the marker itself — rather than solely on the stories it tells, this study underscores the dynamic, contested, and evolving nature of public memory across different cultural and political landscapes. • Materiality is defined as the matter, size, art style, and location of an artifact. • A comparison of three historical marker programs. • The Texas markers express their materiality by object, relocation, and text. • Stolpersteine's materiality counters the Holocaust perpetrators on a micro scale. • The Seoul markers resemble Texas' materiality but tend to avoid martial themes.