Twentieth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

On 12 April 2019, the U.S. government handed over to representatives of the Argentine government over 47,000 pages of declassified U.S. records pertaining to Argentina’s last military dictatorship (1976-1983). The ceremony represented the culmination of an effort begun by President Obama following a scheduling faux pas: his planned visit to Argentina in March 2016, on the 40th anniversary of the coup. The resulting effort to improve bilateral relations through declassification diplomacy represented a win primarily for the human rights community that for decades had been seeking information about the fates of the disappeared. The documents released included the most sensitive intelligence records and promised to fill in missing puzzle pieces about the structure of the repression as well as the fates of countless victims; these details would not only prove invaluable for the ongoing human rights trials of accused perpetrators, but for regime survivors and their loved ones, as well as historians and scholars of memory. While the records were declassified and made public through an intelligence community portal (Intelligence.gov), navigating them presents a challenge even for seasoned practitioners. Cognizant of the need to facilitate access and amplify the Argentina Declassification Project’s reach, William & Mary partnered with the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C. to review, analyze, and organize the documents in searchable data bases. Together, as architects of memory, we have engaged the archive to advance the cause of transitional justice and have become active participants in the construction of our shared Cold War history.

Presenters

Silvia Tandeciarz
Chancellor Professor of Hispanic Studies + Vice-Dean for Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Studies, Arts & Sciences, William & Mary, Virginia, United States