CLACS Alum Participates in LASA Recent History and Memory Section

Memory, gender and Chilean social movements inspired Hillary Heiner’s research as a CLACS M.A. student in 2004. Through CLACS she was awarded a Tinker Field Research grant, which enabled her to do research in Chile. After completing her M.A., she decided to remain in Chile to pursue a PhD at the University of Chile. She is currently writing a doctoral thesis titled, ““Historizar la violencia puertas adentro.  El caso de la Casa Yela y la violencia de género en Talca, 1964-2008” (Historicizing violence indoors. The case of the Casa Yela and gender violence in Talca, 1964-2008).

Through her research at the University of Chile, she became involved in the Recent History and Memory Section (Historia Reciente y Memoria) of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). This recently established section of LASA is a platform for scholars across disciplines and throughout the globe to collaborate, share research, and promote conferences and events related to the topic. Peter Winn of Tufts University and Claudio Barrientos of the Universidad Diego Portales in Chile co-chaired the group.

The Recent History section of LASA focuses on studying recent history processes, such as those involved in dictatorships, democratic transitions, and revolutions throughout Latin America that often lead to human rights violations, political repression and violence, and social conflicts. They also study the, “battles over the collective memory of that traumatic recent past, including the struggles for truth and justice.”

Hillary says, “As a historian, I find this atmosphere refreshing intellectually and I also enjoy the transnational and multi-disciplinary exchanges that we have, being able to dialogue with academics in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay or the US on what the latest tendencies are shaping up to be.”

To learn more about the Recent History and Memory Section of LASA, visit the LASA website and select “Historia Reciente y Memoria” in the dropdown options to the left.

Posted by Von Diaz – MA Candidate at CLACS / Global Journalism at NYU