Stories of the Marvelous Real: An analysis of cultural memory in selected Colombian literary works with policy implications
Abstract
The political public sphere in Colombia lacks formal commemoration of the more than 300,000 lives that have been lost as a result of La Violencia. This violent eruption in Colombia s history is however, remembered in what Jürgen Habermas would call the literary public sphere. This research seeks to discover how cultural memory is created in Colombian literary works and how this literature offers criticisms of the lack of formal commemoration in the political public sphere in Colombia. Colombian literary works also suggest ideals that when implicated in public policy initiatives are staged to combat societal violence. By creating memory, serving as memory and critiquing cultural forms of amnesia, these literary works create a space for creative ideas on alternatives to violence and policy implications that seek to bring dialogue on peace into the political public sphere.
Description
Keywords
Colombia, Cultural Memory