International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2020, 14, 165–192 doi: 10.1093/ijtj/ijaa002 Article Repairing Symbolic Reparations: Assessing the Effectiveness of Memorialization in the Inter- American System of Human Rights Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ijtj/article-abstract/14/1/165/5803872 by guest on 13 May 2020 Robin Ade`le Greeley,* Michael R. Orwicz,† Jose´ Luis Falconi,** Ana Marı´a Reyes,†† Fernando J. Rosenberg*** and Lisa J. Laplante†††
ABSTRACT1 The power of memorialization is widely recognized as a form of symbolic reparation aimed at overcoming deep social divisions in the aftermath of mass violence. Yet memorialization as a juridical tool of repair lacks systematic conceptual elaboration, and its potential remains underutilized. This often results in ineffective, even detrimen- tal monuments, and in programmatic failures to integrate memorial practices into multilayered strategies for justice and social reconciliation. This article explores three case studies from the Inter-American Human Rights System in order to examine the strengths and shortcomings of existing approaches to memorialization. We then offer recommendations for expanding the reparative and transformative capacities of sym- bolic reparations. We conclude by summarizing our observations on how the funda- mentally expressive nature of symbolic reparations provides a potentially powerful tool of repair and transformation. KEYWORDS: symbolic reparation, memorials, memorialization, Inter-American System of Human Rights, aesthetics
* Department of Art and Art History, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Email: robin.greeley@uconn. edu † Department of Art and Art History, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Email: michael.orwicz@ uconn.edu ** Department of Fine Arts, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. Email: [email protected] †† Department of History of Art and Architecture, Boston University, Boston, MA. Email: [email protected] *** Department of Romance Studies, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. Email: [email protected] ††† Center for International Law and Policy, New England School of Law, Boston, MA. Email: llaplante@ nesl.edu 1 As authors and members of the Symbolic Reparations Research Project (SRRP), we thank Doris Sommer, Marco Abarca, Yolanda Sierra, Viviana Krsticevic, Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Francisco Quintana, Luisa Ferreira, Diana Acosta, Mabel Casas Caro, Juan Francisco Vargas, Cristina Lleras, Alvaro Santos, Lilie Chouliaraki, Paola Ibarra, Julian Bonder and the anonymous reviewers for their comments and sup- port. We also acknowledge the support of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University; the University of Connecticut School of Fine Arts Dean’s Grant; and the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute.
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