Degree Year
2011
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Sociology
Advisor(s)
Veljko Vujacic
Sebastiaan Farber
Keywords
El Salvador, Salvadoran Civil War, Historical memory, Collective memory, Sites of memory
Abstract
The Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992), fought between the state's military and a leftist guerrilla group (the FMLN) ended in a peace agreement brokered by the United Nations that acknowledged both sides as equal partners in the reconstruction of civil society. As a result, both camps have been able to write their histories, erect their monuments and hold celebrations in honor of their martyrs. This project studies these competing narratives and the forms in which this history is preserved, and presents an analysis of four key figures, two who reflect the continuing fractured state of historical memory (Major Roberto d'Aubuisson and Col. Domingo Monterrosa), and two who offer the hope that someday, a unifying, healing narrative can emerge (Archbishop Oscar Romero and Comandante Schafik Handal). The goal of this project is to explore how the mythologies these icons are understood and expressed, and what it indicates about collective memory in post-war El Salvador.
Repository Citation
Farah-Robison, Raquel, "Battling for History: Divisive and Unifying Figures of the Salvadoran Civil War" (2011). Honors Papers. 405.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/405
