'The Monument': lecture by Mark Cousins, 1st November, 2002

Extent: 1 audio cassette, 4 digital files (792 MB )

Comprises audio recording of a lecture entitled 'The Monument', given by Mark Cousins on the 1st November, 2002. The recordings consist of an 90 mins audio cassette, 2 digital preservation files (645 MB, .wav format) and 2 digital access files (146 MB .mp3 format). Duration of access version: 55min 04sec.

Copyright: Architectural Association

Creator: Mark Cousins

Admin History: The recording is of the 3rd lecture in the series entitled 'The Past', given by Mark Cousins as part of the AA General Studies programme, 2002-2003. In this lecture, Mark Cousins begins by introducing what he terms 'the empty category of history', which he defines as the inability of history to supply the concept of the event, although requiring one. Cousins then explores the concept of 'the monument', elaborating on this concept through the discourses of literature and religious narrative, referring to Greek antiquity and mythology and citing the stories of Odysseus and Achilles. In further discussion, Cousins introduces the ideas of Alois Riegl, which address 'the monument' and distinguish reasons for attaching value to past objects. Cousins concludes the lecture by suggesting that the question of the document has, in fact mutated, into the problem of the monument and that we should look to Nietzsche's arguments on the necessity and healthiness of forgetting.

Custodial History: Audio cassette recording was made by the AA Audio Visual Departement and retained by the AA Photo Library until 2019, when it was transferred to the AA Archives.

Aquisition: Audio cassette was transferred from the AA Photo Libary to the AA Archives in 2019. Digital preservation and access copies were created by the AA Archives in 2021.

Archive Note: Catalogue description by Samaneh Karimelahi

Publication Note: AA Events List, Week 5, Autumn Term, 28th October - 3rd November, 2002