Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the values of the “conquering” group of Nicaragua (i.e. the Sandinistas, and specifically the upper-class male leadership) have a hegemonic position among alternative narratives and are reproduced through the dominant national narratives. I also argue that these narratives serve to silence other voices such as the Afro-descendant and indigenous populations, the former Contra Combatants, and the women and men within the Miskitu ethnic group. I share the results of an t applied project is to uncover and interrupt the silencing of memories through the production of public narratives, specifically, the documentation of heritage of members of an indigenous and Afro-descendant community in Waspán, Nicaragua. The project is informed by interviews with seven women ex-combatants in the Contra War (1980-1990). Oral histories, transcribed interviews, and field notes are the source for the content of a book of heritage stories that I produced as one output about the former combatants utilizing their own words. I argue that the ways in which silences are reproduced can be interrupted through oral history, which supports the production of alternative or heterodoxic narratives that challenge dominant narratives and provide a way for historically silenced groups to “voice” and memorialize their stories. I demonstrate how oral history projects may support a community in its attempts to give “voice” to narratives that have been “silenced” in official national discourses found in museums, monuments, heritage sites and educational curriculum.
Presenters
Eileen DeLucaInterim Chief of Strategy and Program Innovation, Academic Affairs, Florida Gulf Coast University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Oral History, Heritage Production, Authorized Discourses, Central America, Indigenous Rights
