Monument as a Form of Collective Memory and Public Knowledge

Monument is a term that occurs in Western cultures as a product of different social processes, and therefore it is not enough to research and document only its materiality, but also its function, which changes depending on the society itself. Likewise, public knowledge depends on the society in which it exists - it is constantly dynamic in terms of its structure and organization. Furthermore, the way the corpus of public knowledge is being formed is changing, just like the public space of contemporary Western societies in which the cultural monuments exist. This is so because public space is shaped by this corpus of public knowledge. The phenomenon that clearly defines the relation between the monument and the public knowledge is collective memory. The feelings of belonging and forming an identity are influenced by collective memory and at the same time, these are some of the main characteristics of both, monuments and public knowledge. Social reality is created by public knowledge, but it is also mirrored in monuments. It is therefore necessary to analyse the relation between monuments and public knowledge, so that on the one hand we can better understand the logic of forming and organizing the corpus of public knowledge in public space, and on the other, clearly explain the active social role of monuments