State Repression and the Labors of Memory

by Jelin, Elizabeth; Rein, Judy; Godoy-Anativia, Marcial

• ISBN13: 9780816642830
• ISBN10: 0816642834
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-01
• Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr

Summary

In State Repression and the Struggles for Memory, sociologist Elizabeth Jelin exposes the enduring consequences of repression and the conflicted and contingent nature of memory. Drawing on a wide range of examples, from Bosnia to Rwanda to Argentina's Dirty War, she explores how memory and politics intertwine and the forms in which memory - and forgetting - shape individual and collective identities. The book is rooted in the past of South America, but its reach is much wider. The analysis and reflections presented here draw on theories of historical and social memory, trauma and testimony, 'truth' and how memory is created through confrontation and struggle. Cutting across disciplines - history, anthropology, sociology, psychology and legal anthropology - State Repression and the Struggles for Memory is the best existing introduction to the political uses of memory. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Elizabeth Jelin is a professor at the University of Buenos Aires and research director at the Institute of Social and Economic Development (IDES).

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xiii
1. Memory in the Contemporary World	1	(7)
2. What Memories Are We Talking About?	8	(18)
3. Political Struggles for Memory	26	(20)
4. History and Social Memory	46	(14)
5. Trauma, Testimony, and "Truth"	60	(16)
6. Engendered Memories	76	(13)
7. Transmissions, Legacies, Lessons	89	(14)
Conclusion	103	(4)
Appendix: A Chronology of Political Violence and Human Rights Movements	107	(28)
Notes	135	(14)
Works Cited	149	(8)
Index	157