Using Memory Activism for Political Change
Using Memory Activism for Political Change
October 16, 2017
TLV1 — Dr. Yifat Gutman, a senior lecturer in BGU’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, discusses her new book, Memory Activism: Reimagining the Past for the Future in Israel-Palestine, on a recent episode of the Tel Aviv Review podcast.
“Memory activism is using cultural memory practices for political change,” explains Dr. Gutman.
“Memory activists seek to influence people’s views regarding the present. But, they do so using the past,” she adds.
“They hope a new understanding of the past would bring a new understand of the present and they propose a new vision for the future.”
Dr. Gutman’s book analyzed how three groups of Jewish-Israeli and Arab-Palestinian citizens used memory activism techniques for the purposes of conflict resolution during the early 2000s, after the Oslo Accords failed.
These activists’ efforts gave visibility to a rarely discussed Palestinian history in an effort to come to terms with the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and envision a new resolution for the future.
Listen to the podcast on the TLV website >>
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