ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: the DEMOCRATIC
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ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: THE DEMOCRATIC SELF: GENDER, MEMORY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THE AUGUSTO PINOCHET DICTATORSHIP AND TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN CHILE, 1973-2010 Brandi A. Townsend, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation Directed by: Karin Alejandra Rosemblatt Department of History The Democratic Self asks how ideas about gender shaped the ways that Chileans reconstructed the affective, social, and political bonds the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990) sought to destroy. It intervenes in debates about the degree to which right-wing military regimes in Latin America eroded social ties during the Cold War. Torture targeted gendered and sexual identities and compelled victims to re-assess their roles as men, women, militants, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers. This dissertation argues that to reconnect the individual to collective struggles for democracy, survivors and their allies drew on longstanding, heteronormative gender ideologies within the left. Those ideologies gradually changed over the course of the dictatorship, and in turn, influenced memories during the subsequent transition to democracy (1990-2010). The dissertation draws on government and non-governmental documents and oral interviews with survivors, their families, and human rights workers. Between 1978 and 1990, mental health professionals working within human rights organizations provided psychological therapy to approximately 32,000-42,000 Chileans to help them work through their traumatic experiences as part of a collective project to repair the social connections that state violence ripped apart. These professionals translated psychoanalytic concepts of “the self” into the language of pre-1973 frameworks of citizenship grounded in the heterosexual, male-headed nuclear family. By the mid-1980s, Chile’s feminist movement changed the terms of the debate by showing how gendered forms of everyday violence that pre-dated the dictatorship shaped political violence under the dictatorship, as well as the opposition’s response. Slowly, mental health professionals began to change how they deployed ideas about gender when helping survivors and their families talk about state violence. However, the narratives of violence that emerged with the end of the dictatorship in 1990 and that were enshrined in three separate truth commissions (1990, 2004, and 2010) only partially reflected that transformation. The democratic governments’ attempts to heal Chile’s painful past and move forward did not always recognize, much less dislodge, entrenched ideas that privileged men’s experiences of political militancy. This dissertation shows how Chileans grappled with their memories of state violence, which were refracted through gendered discourses in the human rights movement. THE DEMOCRATIC SELF: GENDER, MEMORY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THE AUGUSTO PINOCHET DICTATORSHIP AND TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN CHILE, 1973-2010 by Brandi Ann Townsend Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Advisory Committee: Professor Karin Alejandra Rosemblatt, Chair Professor Arthur Eckstein Professor Laurie Frederick Meer Professor Mary Kay Vaughan Professor Daryle Williams ©Copyright by Brandi Ann Townsend 2015 For my parents, Kay and Branson Townsend. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Working on a dissertation that is largely about the relationship between the individual and the collective has made me more appreciative of the many people who have supported me intellectually, financially, logistically, and emotionally through this process. All strengths in the following pages are indebted to them. All shortcomings are my own. I have been fortunate to receive funds from my department and outside institutions to finance this project. I would like to thank the Fulbright Institute for International Education, the Conference on Latin American History, the Latin American Studies Center at the University of Maryland, and the University of Maryland History Department for making my research in Chile possible. My advisor, Karin Rosemblatt, has worked tirelessly since the day I arrived at UMD to help me take a general interest and shape it into what I hope is an important intervention in the scholarship. She took me on knowing that I wanted to study a heavy subject that I am sure many others would have hesitated to guide me through. Karin read countless drafts of grant applications and chapters, put me in touch with her Chilean friends and colleagues, and formed an independent study course to provide me with the theoretical foundation of this project. She took time out of many weekends for me. She has played a fundamental role in molding this dissertation. The insights of my committee members, Mary Kay Vaughan, Daryle Williams, Laurie Frederick, and David Sartorius have also been invaluable to me. I have been privileged to work with brilliant scholars who not only produce incredible iii work, but also genuinely care about shaping their students into colleagues. David, who was unable to attend the defense for reasons beyond his control, deserves his due thanks as a committee member, since he read drafts of chapters, as well as the whole dissertation, and provided me with pointed comments for expanding my analysis and sharpening my writing. Art Eckstein graciously filled in at the last minute for the defense and provided helpful comments for the project’s potential impact for U.S. history. Laurie Frederick’s course on storytelling influenced my thinking in many ways and introduced me to new frameworks for interpreting my oral histories. Daryle Williams read grant applications, put me in touch with wonderful researchers in Brazil, and sent me information about resources and research opportunities as I developed my work. Mary Kay Vaughan’s dedication to my success while busy advising a cohort of bright new Mexicanists has meant so much to me. Her comments have helped me reflect upon this work’s place within the larger panorama of Latin American gender history. Mary Kay, as well as Karin, have been role models for me as women academics and feminist scholars who have made tremendous contributions to the field. Several others at UMD and elsewhere have contributed greatly to getting this project to the finish line. Scholars outside of UMD have offered me valuable comments and timely encouragement: Steve Stern, Alison Bruey, Heidi Tinsman, Cristina Scheibe Wolff, and Margaret Power. My professors in the History departments at Murray State University and the University of New Mexico nourished my love of history and primed me for doctoral study. My professors in the Modern Languages Department at Murray State University, especially León Bodevín, trained iv me in Spanish and, along with the Murray State Honors Program, encouraged me to study abroad—an experience that built up my courage to do long-term research in another country. At UMD, Katarina Keane was a wonderful mentor to me. My unwavering appreciation also goes to Jodi Hall, Jenn Sanchez, and Paula Barriga, who kept the History Department and LASC running, and whose unyielding assistance and patience have been vital to my success. I owe a great debt to the people in Chile who helped this gringa pull her project together and adjust to living and researching far from home. Claudio Barrientos has been an invaluable “second advisor,” colleague, and friend. He sponsored me for the Fulbright, read drafts, introduced me to other Chilean researchers, pointed me to document collections, and has graciously participated in conference panels. He lent an ear to me over many a coffee at the Café del Ópera. Hillary Hiner provided me with helpful feedback and coordinated stellar conference panels in which I was honored to participate. Olga Grau also sponsored me for the Fulbright, invited me to symposiums at the Universidad de Chile, and was always ready and willing to offer her support in any way possible. The archivists and librarians at the Vicaría de la Solidaridad, Fundación de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC), CODEPU, CINTRAS, Biblioteca Nacional, and Archivo Siglo XX were incredibly helpful and patient. The Museo de la Memoria y Derechos Humanos in Santiago provided me with digital copies of many files, and most importantly, introduced me to many former political prisoners who agreed to do interviews with me. v I owe my greatest debt to the people who shared their stories with me. Speaking about personal experiences of violence and repression is unimaginably difficult, but these women and men spoke candidly with me. They invited me into their homes and places of work, talked with me for hours, and introduced me to friends who would also talk to me. The second half of the dissertation would not have happened without them. And by far, speaking with these wonderful folks was the most educative and rewarding part of this project. Talented graduate students have stimulated my thinking and offered useful comments on this project at various stages, in addition to their friendship and support. Jesse Zarley, Sarah Walsh, Joshua Walker, Shawn Moura, Adolfo Polo, Enrique Rivera, and Reid Gustafson have formed part of an extraordinary cohort in Latin American history at the University of Maryland. Derek Leininger, a valued friend and colleague in U.S. history, also gave me useful comments. I also found his ruminations on Foucault, social justice, and “authentic American moments” both entertaining and inspiring. Additionally, I thank my Latin Americanist colleagues from the University of New Mexico and elsewhere who have offered me feedback, friendship, and support: Katie McIntyre, Rebecca Ellis, Scott Crago, Lucinda Grinnell, and Javier Puente. My Fulbright sisters Jennifer Lerner, Emily Rigdon, Megan Sheehan, Lily Seidman, and Rachel Koh were also immensely supportive while I conducted research in Chile. Jesse Zarley and Katie Schultz have become some of my best friends, and I will cherish the memories of our shared time in Chile and the U.S. Jesse read various drafts, attended conference presentations, and talked through the research with me on vi countless occasions.