Tell me your story about the Chilean dictatorship: When doing memory is taking positions
Journal
Memory Studies
ISSN
1750-6980
1750-6999
Date Issued
2018
Author(s)
Marcela Cornejo
Carolina Rocha
Nicolás Villarroel
Enzo Cáceres
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
<jats:p>The current memory struggles about the Chilean dictatorship makes it increasingly relevant to hear a diverse range of voices on the subject. One way of addressing this is to study autobiographical narratives, in which people construct a character to present themselves as the protagonists of a story by taking multiple positions regarding what is remembered. This article presents a study that analyzed the life stories of Chilean people (diverse in their generations, cities, experiences of political repression, political orientations and socio-economic levels) and that distinguished between the positions that they take when presenting themselves as the protagonists of an autobiographical story about the Chilean dictatorship. The results point to salient and recurrent positions that allow people to earn the right to be considered part of the social history of the dictatorship, that involve different definitions regarding those responsible and the victims of what happened, and that unveil a strong family and filial logic of remembering.</jats:p>
Subjects
autobiographical character
;
chilean dictatorship
;
collective memory
;
life stories
;
taking positions