New Frontiers in Memory Studies Lecture Series: Tatjana Louis

Tatjana Louis (Los Andes University, Bogotá)

Peace, War, and how we Talk about it: A Discourse Analysis of Colombian History Schoolbooks

Tuesday 13 July | 6pm | online via Zoom | click here to register

Desaprender la guerra – “unlearning” war – is a central demand of peace education in Colombia, which is intended to contribute to socially overcoming the decades-old conflict. An important role is played by history education, which in 2017 was explicitly assigned the task of contributing to peace and reconciliation through historical memory by Law No. 1874. But what discursive offers exist at all to talk about the past in such a way that it contributes to reconciliation and peace? This lecture takes a close look at textbooks for history lessons and examines how war and peace are represented in the texts, how responsibilities are attributed, what social and individual scope for action is shown, and what assignments of meaning are constructed in the narrative.