Project description
How memory initiatives can lead to a culture of peace
While memory, by definition, refers to images or experiences of the past, it is also an important tool in shaping perceptions of the world at the present time. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MEMORYREIMAGINED project is an initiative in the field of memory studies that will undertake an ethnographic exploration of participatory approaches to memory configuration. Focusing on gender inclusion and intersectionality, it will explore the various forms of urban violence that affect people on the margins, assessing the proposed methodology to combat this violence and highlighting the role of marginalised memories. The results of this 3-year intersectoral study will highlight the importance of social inclusion and its contribution towards a culture of peace.
Objective
In the context of the Colombian peace process, this project undertakes an ethnographic exploration of a communitarian museum developed in cooperation between the Colombian National Museum and an organization of transgender activists in a marginalized neighbourhood of Bogotá. Drawing lessons from this innovative collaboration, MEMORYREIMAGINED investigates the inclusion of gender and intersectionality in participatory initiatives of memory configuration. In the outgoing phase of this fellowship, the ethnographic examination of this process of configuring participatory memory will explore the intersection of different forms of violence (armed, structural, gendered, and postcolonial violence) and will delve into the practices of resistance developed by this project. In the return phase to the host institution, the applicability of the methodology examined in this project in an armed conflict-affected context will be explored in contexts of urban social conflict where intersectional violence and social stigmatization affect the everyday of marginalized populations. Through the co-production of knowledge with participants in the project and the development of knowledge exchange with relevant stakeholders, MEMORYREIMAGINED is a form of applied ethnography that foregrounds marginalized memories and contributes to policy and practitioner knowledge of social engagement in memory institutions. It further highlights the potential of memory initiatives to transform social inequality and reduce the continuation of entangled forms of violence. This project advances the fields of feminist anthropology, peace and conflict studies and museum studies, nurturing the interdisciplinary field of memory studies. The outcomes of this three-year project will serve as both precedent and toolkit for participatory approaches to memory configuration, bringing to European institutions and civil society innovative mechanisms for social inclusion and for the promotion of a culture of peace.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
MSCA-PF - MSCA-PFCoordinator
18071 Granada
Spain