Doctoral Dissertation Research: Memorial Sites and Collective Memory

项目摘要博士论文研究：纪念遗址与集体记忆本论文分析了当今卢旺达从大规模暴力到后种族灭绝的过渡过程。社区旨在维持冲突后和平的一种方式是通过建设永久性纪念碑和仪式，旨在创造一种集体记忆，供今后多年使用。然而，我们对大规模暴力事件后的集体记忆的了解大多是它在国家层面上的运作方式。分析地方倡议如何根据其纪念与和解的方向而不同地运作，可以阐明纪念对暴力幸存者生活的重要性。此外，关注当地可以阐明幸存者如何以各种方式与纪念碑互动，反过来，纪念碑如何塑造他们对国家团结和公民身份的理解。本论文通过采访卢旺达种族灭绝后三个不同地点的幸存者（N= 70），研究这些当地动态，他们每天在纪念馆工作、生活或参加纪念馆。本研究的中心兴趣点是与纪念遗址接触所产生的叙述，而不是对遗址本身的分析。通过研究幸存者如何理解当今卢旺达的纪念馆和和解计划如何借鉴和塑造种族灭绝的记忆，学者们可以开始了解地方政治和集体记忆的过程如何与国家相互作用。通过分析那些每天与纪念馆打交道的人的当地叙述，学者们将开始了解这些纪念馆帮助或阻碍幸存者的具体动态。和解的经历（或参与）。我假设，不同的纪念场所会根据其纪念与和解的取向而不同。在每个类别中，我还期望叙述将基于两个中心维度：物理纪念/和解计划的框架和目标受众，以及参与者的特征，如年龄、阶级、性别、地理和教育。这项研究有可能阐明大规模创伤后复杂的和解过程。通过绘制出那些幸存者的轨迹，这些幸存者在他们的创伤中找到了纪念碑或特定的和解计划，然后我们可以将这些发现应用到其他大规模创伤的案例中。这些案例可能包括自然灾害，如新奥尔良的卡特里娜飓风，以及达尔富尔的大规模暴力事件。

PROJECT ABSTRACTDoctoral Dissertation Research: Memorial Sites and Collective Memory This dissertation is an analysis of the transitional processes from mass violence to post-genocide in present day Rwanda. One way that communities aim to sustain peace post-conflict is through the construction of permanent memorials and rituals aimed at creating a collective memory that can be drawn upon for years to come. However, much of what we know about collective memory after mass violence is how it operates on national levels. Analyzing how local initiatives operate differently according to their orientation to memorialization and reconciliation can illuminate how memorials matter in the lives of survivors of violence. Additionally, focusing on the local can shed light on how survivors interact in varied ways with memorials, and in turn, how memorials shape their understanding of national unity and citizenship. This dissertation research focuses on these local dynamics by interviewing survivors in three different locations in post-genocide Rwanda (N= 70) who work at, live by or attend memorials on a daily basis. The central point of interest in this research is the narratives that emerge from engagement with memorial sites, rather than an analysis of the sites themselves. By examining how survivors understand how memorials and reconciliation programs in present day Rwanda draw upon and shape memories of the genocide, scholars can begin to understand how local politics and processes of collective memory interact with national ones. By analyzing the local narratives of those who engage with memorials on a daily basis, scholars will begin to understand the specific dynamics of those memorials that aid or hinder survivor?s experience of (or participation in) reconciliation. I hypothesize that various sites of remembrance will operate differently depending on their orientation towards memorialization vs. reconciliation. Within each category, I additionally expect that narratives will differ based on two central dimensions: the framing of, and intended audience for, the physical memorial/reconciliation program and characteristics of participants, such as age, class, gender, geography and education. This study has the potential to articulate the complicated process of reconciliation after mass trauma. By mapping out the trajectory of those survivors who found memorials or specific reconciliatory programs central in their recovery from trauma, we can then apply these findings to other cases of mass trauma. These cases could range from natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans to mass violence such as in Darfur.