The role of the State, Civil Society and School in the memories of violence

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect on the role of the State, Civil Society and School in the dynamics of memory in the periods of violence following the Southern Cone dictatorships and during the Colombian conflict. To do so, it relies on the postulates of Traverso (2007), Halbawchs (2011) and the narratives of the special reports Nunca más (Argentina), Rettig y Valech (Chile) and ¡Basta ya! (Colombia). It is framed in a historical-hermeneutic methodology with a documentary research design. After describing the unequal experiences of each country in terms of the three categories of analysis, the paper concludes that the State, Civil Society and School are responsible for repairing the social fabric affected by human rights violations. In the case of the State, from the validation in the processes of reparation and justice; in the case of Civil Society, from the struggle for identity and recognition; and in the case of School, from its condition as a meeting point for critical discussion of the polyphony of memories.