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Synopsis
The twentieth century has been scarred by political violence and genocide, reaching its extreme in the Holocaust. Yet, at the same time, the century has been marked by a growing commitment to human rights. Genocide, Collective Violence, and Popular Memory: The Politics of Remembrance in the Twentieth Century highlights the importance of history-of socially processed memory-in resolving the wounds left by massive state-sponsored political violence and in preventing future episodes of violence.
In this volume, the editors define and discuss popular historical memory; explore collective versus individual memory; and examine the uses and abuses of history and memory. In the process, the editors touch upon:
- President Clinton's 1999 trip to Guatemala, where he apologized for U.S. support and denial of repression and massacres
- The new court cases focusing on kidnapping and adoption of the children of detainees during the Argentine Dirty War
- The 1998-99 arrest and detention of General Augusto Pinochet on charges of torture and genocide in England
- The 1998 film Life is Beautiful, a much-discussed comic treatment of German WWII concentration camps
- Recent events in Cambodia, including the arrests and trials of Khmer Rouge principals
- New work on the Japanese Rape of Nanjing
- The Mandela divorce, the Winnie Mandela trial, and 1999 elections in South Africa
Genocide, Collective Violence, and Popular Memory treats a wide variety of incidents of collective violence-from decades-long genocide to short-lived massacres. The selection of essays provides a broad range of thought-provoking case studies from Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
This provocative collection of readings will spur debate and discussion of this timely and important topic..
Brandeis University - Marguerite Bouvard
"At a time when the World Court is investigating and punishing crimes of genocide, this book is an invaluable resource that will instruct and fascinate for years to come. The accounts from around the world are reminders of how the search for justice and for national identity are often at odds and shaped by the demands of politics and international diplomacy. Anyone interested in human rights and how nations deal with the horrors of the past will find this work an important contribution."