Re-membering, Re-telling and Re-surfacing Histories: An Examination of Memory in Post-Dictatorial Chilean Society

Elise Shulman-Reed, Oberlin College

Location

Science Center, A255

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-26-2013 4:00 PM

End Date

4-26-2013 5:00 PM

Abstract

After years of censorship, military control, and a carefully crafted Pinochet narrative, Chile in many ways is a country still reeling from its own tortured past, yet exhibits a sort of cultural amnesia. This past was brought to the forefront of public consciousness once again in December, when 17-year-old Benjamín González sparked widespread debate with his critical graduation speech, in which he stated that not once in his formal education was he taught about the dictatorship years. In my research, I examine the significance of post-traumatic memory in contemporary society through a detailed exploration of the events that unfolded after González’s critique, particularly in the rhetoric employed to insult his dissenting viewpoints.

Notes

Session III, Panel 14: Rewrites, Replays, and Remixes: Reflections on Shakespeare, The Ramayana, Music Techonology, and Chile
Moderator: Jeff Pence, Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and English

Major

History

Advisor(s)

Steve Volk, History

Project Mentor(s)

Leonard Smith, History

April 2013

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Apr 26th, 4:00 PM Apr 26th, 5:00 PM

Re-membering, Re-telling and Re-surfacing Histories: An Examination of Memory in Post-Dictatorial Chilean Society

Science Center, A255

After years of censorship, military control, and a carefully crafted Pinochet narrative, Chile in many ways is a country still reeling from its own tortured past, yet exhibits a sort of cultural amnesia. This past was brought to the forefront of public consciousness once again in December, when 17-year-old Benjamín González sparked widespread debate with his critical graduation speech, in which he stated that not once in his formal education was he taught about the dictatorship years. In my research, I examine the significance of post-traumatic memory in contemporary society through a detailed exploration of the events that unfolded after González’s critique, particularly in the rhetoric employed to insult his dissenting viewpoints.