GOVT 373A/CLAS 348B

Torture, Truth and Memory

Spring 2014

Prof. Shelley McConnell

Hepburn 105 Tuesday 1-4pm

Office Hours: Monday 2:30-4:00 pm

Hepburn 215B Please text 404-683-0536 to confirm

Course Description

Authoritarian regimes have often committed massive human rights abuses that included murder, torture, disappearances, involuntary exile and forced adoptions. As a condition for transitioning to democratic governance outgoing military leaders insisted on amnesty for those crimes, but societies have sought to come to terms with their human rights history through other means such as truth commissions, forensic anthropology, investigative journalism, international prosecution, collective memory projects and popular culture. Drawing on memoirs, torturers’ confessions, declassified documents, films, literature and analytical texts this course explores the ongoing struggle over who will interpret the political past, and what roles justice and forgiveness might play in securing democracy for the future. Course readings will center on Latin American cases, and students can apply those lessons in other world regions through their papers.

Violence takes many forms, including the structural violence of poverty, racism and gender discrimination. It has a variety of political uses, some perceived as legitimate and others not, and the line between them is often thin. Violence is pervasive at national, global, social and personal levels. It is eminently political, but cannot be understood without reference to other academic disciplines, meaning no single course can explore all its dimensions. This course will therefore select a piece of the broader picture on which to focus, namely episodes of state terror in which the governments turn on their own citizens rather than providing for protection of human rights. Special attention will be given to genocide and the construction of an official national security doctrine related to anti-communism and fascism.

Although we must study the horrifying record of what occurred, the course emphasizes how citizens came to expose the past abuses, seek justice and obtain reparations in a process of redress and empowerment. Knowledge was critical to this process, so the course teaches ways of knowing what happened. It lays out enduring debates aboutwhat constitutes evidence and who is a victim. We will consider the US role both in enabling state terrorism and in exposing it and aiding prosecution of abusers. And we will explore memory and testimony, especially memorialization as a means of constructing an alternative historical narrative to confront official narratives and silencing. Finally we will consider the marketization of memory, askingwhether St. Lawrence students should visit memorial sites and how they could engage those places if they did.

Basis of Evaluation

Spain Interaction Preparation and two-page Write-up 10%

Document selection and analysis (4-pages)15%

Testimonial selection and analysis (4 pages)15%

Film Journal15%

Preliminary Bibliography (two pages) and Research Design 10%

Final 15-page research paper 25%

Class Preparation and Participation 10%

The nature of the topic is such that you may find yourself emotionally caught up in the material. Partly for this reason, the assignments have been broken up so that you write a little bit almost every week, generally something very short that will both require you to work through your reactions and give you a space in which to do so using intellectual tools.Most assignments are due on Thursdays. A fuller description of the assignments will be posted to Sakai, but here is a preview.

To begin, in solidarity with our enterprise the SLU students in the Madrid program will visit sites commemorating Spain’s civil war atrocities, including the Valley of the Fallen, Franco’s tribute to his dictatorship’s victory. You and the students in Spain will both read an assigned chapter on the memorial.Your assignment is summarize that chapter in writing and develop from it questions about the site. The Madrid students will also go see the Guernica, so you should look that painting up on the web and also learn about the incident it portrays. We will then have some form of interaction with the students in Spain, TBD—a Skype call, a blog etc.

Documentary films and videos, historical fiction films and cinematic versions of works of literature have all been assigned as texts for the course in order to help you envision countries you have not visited and eras through which you did not live. The films will be made available on Sakai for the week in which they are assigned. Students are required to view them before class and we will discuss them in class. Afterwards students will write a 3-page reflection on 3 films in relation to the readings and engaging a key concept in those readings. You will submit those film write-ups as a “film journal” when they are done. The films are frontloaded in the course and your write-ups will be due before Spring Break.

State of Fear (Peru) see by January 28

Missing (Chile) by February 4

No! (Chile) by February 11

Sometimes in April (Rwanda) by February 18

Death and the Maiden (Chile) by February 25

More conventionally, students will write two four-page analytical essays pertaining to the cases we have studied. To explore the US role and our understanding of this contested history you will be asked to obtain a US government document (public or declassified) and analyze it in a 4-page essay. Similarly, to assure that the voices of the victims of state terror are not silenced you will be asked to obtain a first-hand account of a victim’s experience and write a 4-page essay contextualizing it, providing political analysis and exploring the usefulness of testimonial evidence.

Finally, students will write a 15-page research paper on a topic of the student’s choice; it need not be on a Latin American case but does require the professor’s approval in advance. A list of sample topics will be posted to Sakai. The research paper is due at the end of the course in lieu of a final exam, but to ensure that students get an early and appropriate start on it they will be required to submit a bibliography and research design midway through the course.

Because this is a seminar, students have only one excused absence. Everyone is expected to come to class prepared, having read the assigned readings and seen the assigned films. Every student should articulate comments and questions in class discussion, using the readings. Students who attend regularly but say little cannot receive better than a 2.75 for their participation grade. There is one week when the professor will be in Washington DC with the Model OAS team, so in lieu of class students will schedule coaching sessions with Dr. Kirk Fuoss to learn how to voice and record oral testimony. These sessions are required, and if you do not attend that will count as an absence. We will also have special sessions with Dr. Mindy Pitre, a forensic anthropologist, and our Government Department library liaison Paul Doty, but these have been scheduled during class.

All written assignments are to be deposited in your Sakai dropbox as well as in hard copy to my box in the Government Department Hepburn 102.

Books

Books for the course have been ordered through Brewer Bookstore, and you can find the ISBN by searching electronically under the course number. If you choose to buy the books elsewhere, try to obtain the same edition the Bookstore has so that the page numbers and chapter titles will match those in this syllabus. The Timmerman and Weschler books have been around for awhile so used copies should be cheap.

  • Thomas C. Wright, State Terrorism in Latin America
  • Jacobo Timmerman, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number
  • Ksenija Bilbija et.al., The Art of Truth Telling About Authoritarian Rule
  • Katherine Hite, Politics and the Art of Commemoration
  • Lawrence Weschler, A Miracle, A Universe
  • Daniel Rothberg, Memory of Silence: The Guatemalan Truth Commission Report

Other readings have been posted to Sakai. These are required, not optional, and you will be expected to use them in your essays and film responses. There is a substantial reading load, as is appropriate to a 300-level course. Bear in mind that our single session must cover the same amount you would have covered in two 90 minute or three 60 minutes classes. You are advised to plan reading time throughout the week, space the readings out and heed the SAKAI advice on how to read political science texts. I have indicated the number of pages to help you plan your time, but page size varies as does the density of the reading so I suggest you sample the books enough to get a feel for how quickly you read that sort of text.

Students with Special Needs

If you have a disability and needaccommodations please be sure to contact the Disability and Accessibility Services Office right away so they can help you get the accommodations you require If you will need to use any accommodations in this class, please talk with me early so you can have the best possible experience this semester.Although not required, I would like to know of any accommodations that are needed at least 10days before a quiz or test, so please see me soon.

Academic Support

One of the great things about attending a small liberal arts college is that academic help is available to you in many forms. Librarians can help you learn to do research. If English is not your native language, Dean Evelyn Jennings can get you help with that too. I have posted a whole file of writing advice to Sakai, and the Word studio is open to everyone who wants to improve his or her writing and speaking skills. Similarly the quantitative resource center has people standing by to help you with quantitative literacy of any kind, including how to use statistics or calculate measures. Matt McCluskey is your go-to guy to get help with time management and study skills. Your tuition has already covered the costs of these support services, so why not use them?

Academic Integrity

All work in this course is conducted under the St. Lawrence University honors policy and any violations will be processed in accordance with the university practices. All work should be solely that of the individual student. Any violations of academic honesty will be vigorously pursued.

Academic integrity includes a broad array of conduct, but one that may be new to you is the emphasis on crediting the sources of your college assigments, be they papers or some other type of assignment. References must be included whenever the student-writer employs an idea that is not common knowledge or the student’s original idea. The citation is needed whether that idea is expressed in the author’s words or paraphrased by the student-writer. Citations to the information source are required for images and graphs as well as text. Students are advised to learn what plagiarism is and avoid it, including the form of plagiarism that consists of paraphrasing too closely.

No Panic Policy

This course operates under a no panic policy. At times the pressures of academic life can feel overwhelming. In those moments, there is a natural tendency to want to look professional, organized and productive, and it can be difficult to approach your professors and admit you are floundering. Nonetheless, that is exactly what you should do. Faculty can alleviate some of the immediate pressure and help you design a strategy to get back on track. If you find yourself in a panic, getting in touch with me is the smart move, so make it (text me at 404-683-0536). Always remember, I grade the assignments, not the person.

READING SCHEDULE

Readings for each session are bulleted BELOW the date & topic

Graded assignments due are underlined

Important Notes are in italics

The professor reserves the right to ask students to attend lectures or other events that may occur on campus in relation to the course if such opportunities arise.

January 21 Introduction

  • No reading

**Special Wednesday Office Hours 2:30-4 Early clearance of paper topics for those who have come into the course already having some idea of what they want to write about. There is no reason to delay. Let’s have coffee!

January 28 The Political Uses of Violence: Uruguay & Peru

  • Timerman, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number Chapter 1 & 4 [17pp]
  • Thomas C. Wright, State Terrorism in Latin America, Ch. 1 “The Human Rights Revolution” [13pp]
  • Lawrence Weschler, A Miracle, A Universe,. Section called The Reality of the World: 1: Liberty. [90 small pages]
  • Hite, Politics and the Art of , Ch. 3 “Victims, victimizers, and the question of empathy: The Eye That Cries” (21pp)
  • SAKAI Film #1State of Fear

Thursday January 30 by 8:00 pm submit your two-page Summary of Hite Ch. 2 with Questions for Skype Call with SLU Madrid.

Feburary 4Chile’s Contested History

**The last hour of this class will be held at ODY so that Paul Doty can teach you how to find government documents. You can locate a document to base your essay around during that session or on your own. For ideas of where to look, see the assignment sheet, but one source is the National Security Archive for which SLU has a free trial at the moment. Here are the links for later reference:

On campus URL:

Off-Campus URL:

  • Wright Ch. 2 “The Latin American Human Rights Crisis” [26pp] and Ch. 3 Chile Under State Terrorism [48]
  • SAKAI Film #2No!

February 11 Ways of Knowing: Access to Information Lawsand Journalism

**Bring to class your US government document pertaining to the Chile case 1964-1989.

  • Wright, Ch. 6 Chile: Impunity, Truth and Justice in a Protected Democracy [46]
  • Timmerman, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number Chapter 5 [17]
  • SAKAI Mark Danner, The Massacre at El Mozote, “The Documents” pp.183-201 [18]
  • SAKAI Film #3 Missing

Friday February 14 by noon submit your historical document analysis.

February 18 Guatemala’s Contested History (Genocide)

  • Guatemala:Memory of Silence Forward, Introduction, Prologue, Chapter 6 on Genocide[50pp]
  • SAKAI Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur, “A Good Place to Commit Murder”, excerpt from The Guatemala Reader [3pp]
  • SAKAI Victor Montejo, “Exodus” in The Guatemala Reader [4pp]
  • SAKAI:Ch. 2 of Michele Wucker, Why the Cocks Fight, “The Massacre River” [31pp]
  • SAKAI Film #4: Sometimes in April, about the Rwandan Genocide
  • Explore on the web, PBS background for the Frontline’s Triumph of Evil, based on the BBC production When Good Men do Nothing (Rwanda)

**Clear your paper topics: bring to my office hours Monday or Wednesday 2:30-4 a rough idea of your question in writing. Please sign up for a 20 minute timeslot.

**N.B. SLU’s free trial of the National Security Archives digital library ends Feb. 20.

February 25 Ways of Knowing: Official and Unofficial Truth Projects

**Engagement with the students in Spain will likely be in class today. It may be a Skype call or an online chat or someother form of technologically-enabled exchange.

  • Daniel Rothenberg, ed. Guatemala: Memory of Silence, Chapter 13 & Afterword [30pp]
  • SAKAI: Louise Bickford, “Unofficial Truth Projects” Human Rights Quarterly 29 (2007) pp.994-1005, item on Guatemala, and pp 1026-1035 [about 22pp total]
  • SAKAI Daniel Hernandez-Salazar, “Memory of an Angel” from The Guatemala Reader [3pp]
  • SAKAI Helen Mack, “What is Reconciliation?”, in The Guatemala Reader (3pp)
  • SAKAI Ana Maria Rodas, “Disagreement” (2pp) in The Guatemala Reader
  • SAKAI Film #5Death and the Maiden

**Clear your paper topics: bring to my office hours Monday or Wednesday 2:30-4 a rough idea of your question in writing. Please sign up for a 20 minute timeslot.

Last day to Clear your Paper Topic is February 28

March 4 Ways of Knowing: Forensic Evidence and Testimony

**Class will meet today from 1-2 in PK 14 (Basement of Piskor) which is Mindy Pitre’s lab. She will teach you basic forensic techniques, such as how to identify age, gender etc. on human skeletal remains. From 2-4 we will resume in our normal classroom.

  • SAKAI: Lab Handout from Dr. Pitre
  • SAKAI: Victoria Sanford, Buried Secrets Ch.1 “The Bones Don’t Lie”(18pp) and Ch. 2 “The Silenceing of Maya Women” (26pp) and Chapter 10 “Genocide and the ‘Grey zone’ of Justice” (23pp)
  • SAKAI: Mark Danner, The Massacre at El Mozote,Chapter 4 “La Matanza” and Appenix of Documentsp. 235-256 (item 13)
  • Ksenija Nilnija et.al., The Art of Truth Telling About Authoritarian Rule, items by Cecilia Herrera on Chile (pg. 63). Victoria Sanford on Guatemala (pp. 52-53), Courtney Monahan on Argentina (pp. 40-41), [about 5pp total]

Thursday March 6 Film Journal Due to your DropBox by 8:00pm (one single document per student please)

March 11 No Class as we are on Spring Break

March 18 Ways of Knowing: Preserving the Old Regime’s Documents

**Kirk Fuoss will drop in at 3:30-4 to meet you students and let you sign up for coaching next week in how to read and record testimonial texts for your second short essay assignment.

  • SAKAI: Kate Doyle, “The Atrocity Files” from The Guatemala Reader [6pp]
  • Lawrence Weschler, A Miracle, A Universe, first section by that title, on Brazil [72 small pages]

March 25 No Class as Professor is Out of Town(but you have two assignments)

Do research to locate a piece of testimony you would like to write about. Meet with Kirk Fuoss to practice reading testimony.

Monday, March 24: 11-noon & noon-1.

Tuesday, March 25: 2-3 & 3-4.

Wednesday, March 26: noon-1 & 1 -2.

Put together your bibliography and research question/methods for your final paper due by 8:00 pm Sunday March 30 to your dropbox.

April 1 Remembering, Forgetting and Testimonial Evidence

  • Hite, Politics and the Art of Commemoration Ch. 1 “Memorials to Struggle” (22pp)
  • Ksenija Bilbija et.al., The Art of Truth Telling About Authoritarian Rule, introduction (pp.2-9)
  • Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, Ch. 11 “Memory and Forgetting” (23pp)
  • SAKAI Elizabeth Jelin, State Repression and the Labors of MemoryCh.5 “Trauma, Testimony and Truth” (28pp)

April 8 Argentina’s Contested History