Historia Reciente y Memoria

Informe Sección Historia Reciente y Memoria

Peter Winn

Historia Reciente y Memoria/Recent History & Memory Studies is a new Section, so most energy was directed to establishing and consolidating the Section, including stabilizing its membership, creating its internal governance and establishing a means of communication among its members. However, the Section did begin to address the ambitious agenda suggested at the first Business Meeting at LASA-Rio in 2009. The major new initiative was to organize a competition for best Master's Thesis, a priority of the Section's many Latin American members, with the goal of encouraging young Latin American scholars just entering this emerging field. The response demonstrated that the Section had made the right choice: 25 MA theses were submitted and juries were chosen for the phased evaluation process, completed in 2010. In addition, the Section organized a panel for LASA-Toronto on "Recent History and Memory in Latin America: Between the National and the Regional Gaze," which was well attended and provoked a lively and insightful discussion.

Some of the issues in that discussion were present as well at the Business Meeting of the Section at LASA-Toronto, including the suggestion that the Section sponsor a workshop on the theory and methodology of Historia Reciente and Memory studies. Other proposals adopted at the Business Meeting were to create an interactive website with the help of LASA and to organize a competition for best book published in the field, which would alternate with the best master's thesis competition. There was also support for improving ties with European scholars and institutions, and sponsoring sub-regional workshops between LASA Congresses.

Lastly, the Section elected new officers at Toronto; the choices were confirmed by email consultation with Section members who were unable to come to LASA-Toronto. The officers of the Section for 2010-12 are: Claudio Barrientos (Universidad Diego Portales, Chile) and Peter Winn (Tufts University, USA), Co-chairs; Hillary Hiner (Universidad Diego Portales, Chile/USA), Secretary; and Pablo Yankelevich (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México), Vania Markarian (Universidad de la República, Uruguay), Denise Rollemberg (Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brasil), and Florencia Levín (Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, Argentina), Council Members.