Collective memories and political struggles

We consider memory as a social and collective practice with political significance, not limited to the recovery of the past, but primarily focused on constructing meaning from shared experiences, which are enacted and reformulated in response to the needs of the present. We begin with the premise that memory is realized in the present and is inherently linked to the social and political context in which it is produced and to the social position from which its versions unfold. As part of a network of power relations, collective memory practices constitute a field of conflict where versions of the past struggle to establish themselves, becoming resistant when they manage to challenge the hegemonies of the present and envision other possible futures. To remember is to construct meaning about the past in relation to the needs of the present, in order to understand and act in the face of new hegemonies and their violence. It is then that memories can be considered resistant memories, and both practices—memory and resistance—reinforce each other.

GENERAL PURPOSE

To critically reflect on the possible connections between collective memory processes and political struggles in Latin America.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

That students can:

• Describe and analyze resistance practices in different areas of Latin America. 

• Describe and analyze memory policies related to past violence in different Latin American countries.

• To understand the potential of memory as a form of political action within the framework of resistance practices and political struggles.

• Collective memory: conceptual reflections
• From memory as a reconstructive technology to memories as transformative scenarios in Colombia
• Memory policies: a comparative analysis of Argentina and Chile
• Memory and socio-political crisis in Nicaragua. The citizen rebellion of April 2018
• Memory policies in Colombia
• The silences and the unspoken
• Testimony as a practice of memory and resistance
• Practices of resistance: conceptual reflections
• Indigenous resistance in Mexico
• Indigenous resistance in the Andean countryside: Argentina, Peru and Chile

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• CALVEIRO, P. (2016). Politics of fear and local resistance, Athenea digital, vol. 15. No. 4, http://atheneadigital.net/article/view/v15-n4-calveiro
• CALVEIRO, Pilar (2014). Political meanings of testimony in times of fear. Paper.
• NATIONAL CENTER FOR HISTORICAL MEMORY (2013).Enough is enough! Colombia: Memories of war and dignity. Bogotá: National Printing Office.
• FERNÁNDEZ, F. and FERNÁNDEZ, R. (2014). The tinku as a political expression: Contributions towards an activist citizenship in Santiago de Chile. Psicoperspectivas 14 (2), 62-71.
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• RAFFIN, Marcelo. (2008). The thought of Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault in question. The ideas of power, the subject and truth, Lessons and essays, 85, 17-44.
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• SCHUSTER, S. (2017). Memory without history: a critical reflection on the recent “memorial wave” in Colombia. Metapolitics, 21(96): 44-52.
• SCOTT, James. (2003). The Dominated and the Art of Resistance. Era Publishing. Chapter I Behind the Official Story, pp. 23-40; Chapter II, pp. 41-70; Chapter VIII A Saturnalia of Power: The First Public Declaration of Hidden Speech, pp. 239-267
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The basic requirements for taking a seminar are:

• Availability of at least 4 hours per week to dedicate to the seminar course.
• Internet access.
• Reasonable handling of communication and computer tools.
• Language proficiency in the language in which the course will be taught. The official languages ​​are Spanish and Portuguese.

The seminars last 10 weeks, plus the completion of a final project. A total of 90 hours of dedication will be credited.

A course consists of 10 classes, each accompanied by required reading bibliography, supplementary bibliography, discussion forums and training activities proposed by the teaching team, partial deliveries and a final project.

The course is online and asynchronous. Some instructors may propose synchronous activities. In those cases, the time and date will be agreed upon beforehand between the teaching team and the students to ensure everyone's participation.

To pass the seminar, you must participate in at least 80% of the discussion forums and activities proposed by the teachers, have completed the scheduled partial deliveries, and pass the final work.