Remembering and Narrating Conflict

Page 28

that is, both identities shape each other but systems of domination

27

is another reason why it is important to consider social location when doing memory work. Women, racialized groups, and others who have a subordinate role in society have had fewer opportunities to speak, be heard, and analyzed. This is also clearly expressed in the work of remembering and what memories and voices are more often heard and silenced. Remember: Different forms of violence are experienced by men and women, adults and young people, members of indigenous groups, people of African heritage or other racialized groups, LGBT people, people with disabilities, people living in poverty and those in many other social locations. Armed actors often target members of certain groups with a type of violence aimed at wounding that which is significant to them. The impact of the violence suffered, and the meaning it has, also varies across groups, as does how they process harm and loss.

B 1.4 The

battles of memory against exclusion and suppression

Let’s reflect: Why are some actors excluded from historical accounts? What connection is there between the social groups that are excluded and the opportunities (or the lack thereof) for those individuals in society? How are Indigenous understanding/practices of memory and healing incorporated into the process? If war polarizes memories, a historical memory project that seeks to be inclusive of plural voices goes in the opposite direction. But to do so requires asking why certain stories are excluded from national history,

Chapter B

also tend to reinforce each other (Crenshaw 1991; Razack, 2002). This


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.