Dear Colleagues
Please see below Call for Papers for the panel "Commemoration and Contestation: The Uncertain Future of Memory Initiatives in Latin America" for the SLAS 2011 Conference to be held in St.Andrews (8-10 April).
Please feel free to forward to any interested parties, and ask them to contact Cara Levey ([log in to unmask]) with any further enquiries.
Best wishes
Cara
Cara L Levey
Teaching Fellow in Latin American and Translation Studies
Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
University of Leeds, LS2 9JT
United Kingdom
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/spanport/staff/cara_levey.htm
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Call for Papers:
SLAS 2011
Please contact Cara Levey ([log in to unmask]) with title and abstracts before 1st December 2010.
Commemoration and Contestation: The Uncertain Future of Memory Initiatives in Latin America
Since the mid-1990s we have witnessed an upsurge in commemorative activity relating to the gross human rights violations that were committed during recent dictatorships, periods of state terrorism, and internal conflict, which plagued Latin America during the latter half of the twentieth century. Commemoration has taken the form of struggles over the meaning of dates, the recuperation of former prisons for projects such as museums or visitor centres, as well as the formation of groups dedicated to the (re)construction of memory. However, commemoration often proves polemical; not only because the memories being transmitted are extremely traumatic and conflictive, and involve a diverse collection of actors from both state and civil society, but also due to the specific needs of each initiative, such as funding, public space, state support, and professional expertise.
The precarious future of many of these initiatives, and the obstacles they face (such as a lack of governmental or societal support, limited funding, internal disagreements and disputes), is indicative of the absence of both clear state policy and societal consensus on how memorialisation should be undertaken and continued. Moreover, the persistence of these debates into the present suggests that although local and national governments in Latin America have, in recent years, sanctioned and supported commemoration related to past human rights violations, the future of these commemorative initiatives is by no means secure.
This interdisciplinary and interregional panel will explore a wide range of official and non-official commemorative initiatives throughout Latin America. Moving on from the debates about why and how commemoration has been undertaken, presentations will focus on the challenges that face commemorative initiatives today. A number of projects which aim to construct and shape memory will be examined, whilst the panel will comparatively explore the cross-national issues they face, such as potential and actual shifts in state policy and changes in government, their propensity for reparation, maintenance and continuity, and their long-term future. The panel will seek to analyse how these problems may be addressed, with a view to examining and reflecting on the way in which commemorations have shaped the collective memory of broader society.
Panel Coordinators/Chairs:
Cara Levey
Teaching Fellow in Latin American Studies, University of Leeds
Manuela Badilla
Universidad de Chile
List of Speakers and Paper Titles
Manuela Badilla
Universidad de Chile
Title: Patrimonio del dolor en Santiago de Chile: entre la memoria oficial y las memorias colectivas
Cecilia Sosa
Queen Mary & Westfield University
Title: New Affects in Argentina's Aftermath of Violence
Dr Emilse B. Hidalgo
IRICE-CONICET, Rosario, Argentina
Title: Memory Museums in Argentina: Between Demolition, Modification and Preservation
Dr. Francesca Lessa
Research Associate
Latin America International Affairs Programme, IDEAS Centre, London School of Economics
Title: The Plan Condor and Borderless Violence: The Recuperation of Automotores Orletti in Buenos Aires
Cara Levey
Teaching Fellow in Latin American and Translation Studies
University of Leeds
Title: Struggles for Memory, Struggles for Justice: Montevideo’s Memorial de los Detenidos Desaparecidos
Dr María Eugenia Ulfe
Docente
Departamento de Ciencias Sociales
Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú
Title: La construcción visual de la memoria y los lugares de memoria en Perú
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