State Repression and the Labors of Memory (Volume 18)

by Elizabeth Jelin

Hearing the news from South America at the turn of the millennium can be like traveling in time: here are the trials of Pinochet, the searches for "the disappeared" in Argentina, the investigation of the death of former president Goulart in Brazil, the Peace Commission in Uruguay, the Archive of Terror in Paraguay, a Truth Commission in Peru. As societies struggle to come to terms with the past and with the vexing questions posed by ineradicable memories, this wise book offers guidance. Combining a concrete sense of present urgency and a theoretical understanding of social, political, and historical realities, State Repression and the Labors of Memory fashions tools for thinking about and analyzing the presences, silences, and meanings of the past. With unflappable good judgment and fairness, Elizabeth Jelin clarifies the often muddled debates about the nature of memory, the politics of struggles over memories of historical injustice, the relation of historiography to memory, the issue of truth in testimony and traumatic remembrance, the role of women in Latin American attempts to cope with the legacies of military dictatorships, and problems of second-generation memory and its transmission and appropriation. Jelin's work engages European and North American theory in its exploration of the various ways in which conflicts over memory shape individual and collective identities, as well as social and political cleavages. In doing so, her book exposes the enduring consequences of repression for social processes in Latin America, and at the same time enriches our general understanding of the fundamentally conflicted and contingent nature of memory. A timely exploration of the nature ofmemory and its political uses.

Genres: Nonfiction

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Romina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rich book that I reference often in my graduate work. Jelin offers a nuanced understanding how state repression and the torture of political prisoners was gendered. For those unaware of the experience of state terror and social trauma brought about by military dictatorship, some of the issues discussed might be difficult to understand. Prior knowledge about the dictatorial regimes in Chile (1973-1990) and Argentina (1976-1983) are assumed in the book.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully concise and informative. The timeline at the end is a nice touch too.

[Sepide Saghafian · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب، بیشتر حالت مقدمه به مبحث داره، ولی برای خوندنش خیلی الهام‌بخش بود. به خصوص که مثال‌های خیلی گویا از آمریکای لاتین زده بود. مطالعات خاطره هنوز بعد از ۲۰-۳۰ سال حوزه جدیدیه، و این کتاب توی فصل‌های اول، رویکردهای بنیادین متنوع توی این حوزه رو خوب توضیح می‌ده.

[Mahfer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amaziiiing such a great read especially for me that loves writing about oral history Hahhah

[Chuy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavily theoretical based on historical memory, took me many reads and still very dense on the impact of memory and human rights abuses of the 20th century.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapter on testimony was especially enlightening for me.