Memory and New Ways of Knowing - (Studies in Knowledge Production and Participation) by Blanca Yaneth González Pinzón & Theresa Lillis

About the Book

This book is an interdisciplinary project centering on the testimonios of survivors in order to understand experiences of violence arising from the armed conflict in Colombia. The concepts of Testimony, Narrative and Memory are mobilized across the chapters to explore how survivors reconstruct experiences and imagine new ways of knowing and being.

Book Synopsis

This book is a collaborative project which centres on the testimonios of more than 100 survivors of the harsh realities of the 80-year Colombian armed conflict, drawing on multiple disciplinary areas and practices: linguistics, philology and linguistics, education, journalism, academia, art and film, education, literature, human rights, sociology, urban geography, cosmogony and grassroots activism. Using extracts from testimonios in multiple forms - oral, written, film, textiles - and mobilising the concepts of Testimony, Narrative and Memory, the book explores how survivors of all ages configure and reconfigure their experiences, worldviews and identities, striving towards the building of new knowledges which will help ensure the non-repetition of violence. The book will be of interest to all who are committed to understanding conflict and post-conflict societies in the search for peace.

This book will be open access under a CC BY ND licence.

Review Quotes

The individual memories in this book form a collective memory that strengthens the processes of reconciliation and justice in Colombia. They call upon us, as a society, to assume a historical responsibility for making visible the survivors who faced conflict with stark resilience.

-- "Shima Pardo, Journalist and Program Coordinator of the Feminist Movement "Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres", Colombia"

This is a rigorous, multidisciplinary work which will be a reference point among studies seeking to explore the lived experiences of armed conflict. Built from the accounts of survivors in multiple forms - spoken and written accounts, film, textiles - the book provides a counterhegemonic perspective which works ethically and aesthetically towards the goal of 'non repetition' of violence and provides hope for a peaceful future.

-- "Nora Solari, International Educational Consultant and Expert in Language, Literature and Latin Pedagogy, Argentina"

A book which is both academically rigorous and emotionally moving, documenting the lived experiences of the ongoing Colombian armed conflict. The book draws on multiple voices to underline the hopes for building peace and reconciliation, as well as restorative and social justice.-- "Melba Libia Cárdenas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia"

This is an inspirational work, with a strong combination of nuanced theorizing and compelling data in the form of testimonios. The book invites readers to think about how narrative works towards building memory, creating change and imagining new futures.-- "Bronwyn T. Williams, University of Louisville, USA"

About the Author

Blanca Yaneth González Pinzón is an independent researcher, committed to transforming pedagogy and curricula. She is a founding member of the Reading and Writing Network in Higher Education of Colombia and External Pedagogical Advisor to the Colombian Association of Universities.

Theresa Lillis is Professor Emeritus of English Language and Applied Linguistics at The Open University, UK. She has published widely on academic, grassroots and professional writing and the politics of participation in knowledge-making.