“Remembering, forgetting, speaking, silencing. The social management of conflictive pasts” is the third working document published by CAPAZ in 2019. Its author is Tatjana Louis, researcher and associate professor at the School of Social Sciences at Universidad de los Andes. Her research emphasis focuses on the development of historical awareness, and the teaching and learning of history.

Abstract:

In societies in transition, historical memory is an instrument for the symbolic reparation of victims, the clarification of truth, and the goal of social reconciliation. However, the work of memory in a society goes beyond the time limits of transitional justice and presents a challenge for different generations. Based on the analysis of manuals for teaching history in various historical periods, this text addresses the long-term social management of painful pasts in two different contexts: in Colombia, the period of La Violencia; and in Germany, the Nazi dictatorship and the legacy of the German Democratic Republic. The manuals show what society considers necessary to teach future generations. At the same time, they serve as a mirror of today’s society. An analysis of training processes in schools can therefore shed light on the social development of a historical memory.

Louis, T. Recordar, olvidar, hablar, silenciar. El manejo social de pasados conflictivos. Instituto Colombo-Alemán para la Paz – CAPAZ, Bogotá: 2019, 41 p.

Read the CAPAZ working paper 3-2019 (In Spanish).

(Text: Claudia Maya. English version: Tiziana Laudato)