Postmemories of Terror: A New Generation Copes with the Legacy of the "Dirty War"

by S. Kaiser

Overview

Postmemories of Terror focuses on how young Argentineans remember the traumatic events of the military dictatorship (1976-83). This fascinating work is based on oral histories with sixty-three young people who were too young to be directly victimized or politically active during this period. All were born during or after the terror and possessed an entirely mediated knowledge of it. Susana Kaiser explores how the post-dictatorship generation was reconstructing this past from three main sources: inter-generational dialogue, education and the communication media. These conversations discuss selected and recurrent themes like societal fears and silences, remembering and forgetting, historical explanations and accountability. Together they contribute to our understanding of how communities deal with the legacy of terror.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403964656
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	03/17/2006
Series:	Palgrave Studies in Oral History Series
Edition description:	2005
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

SUSANA KAISER is Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Latin American Studies, University of San Francisco, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction Conversations about Fear Conversations about Silences Conversations about Knowledge: What Happened? Conversations about Knowledge: Why Did It Happen? Conversations about Impunity Conversations about Indifference Conversations about Justice Conversations about the Communication Media Conversations about Representing the Horror Conversations about Human Rights Activism Conclusions

Editorial Reviews

"Susana has given us an extraordinarily lucid and poignant work. Postmemories of Terror is a masterful exploration into the depth of evil as well as hope. Kaiser creates a narrative of voices that dwells in Argentina's dark night of terror and silence. This is a work of solid achievement and human solidarity." - Marjorie Agosin, Wellesley College

"Well-researched and compelling, Postmemories of Terror is a significant contribution to the growing literature on the role of memory and identity in societies emerging from periods of mass violence." - Eric Stover, Director, Human Rights Center and author of The Witnesses: War Crimes and the Promise of Justice in the Hague

From the Publisher