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Georgetown University

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Program Name

Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development

Abstract

Fifty years later, Chilean society still continues to struggle with underlying political cleavages resulting from the complex historical effects of the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1989) which can be seen in educational curricula that address this historical period of Chilean History. Studies conducted on primary educational systems note the lack of discussion or full disclosure of the events that transpired during the military government, emphasizing a type of ‘memory regime’ based on omission and silence about aspects of this period, yet there is a lack in post-secondary studies of this same phenomenon. This paper aims to bridge the inherent lack by conducting a vertical case study on the narratives presented about the Pinochet dictatorship in the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaíso through archival research of the history department curriculum along with interviews of history majors at this institution. Research revealed that similar to the primary schools, there exists a type of ‘memory regime’ within the institution that avoids a lot of the lived experience and institution’s history by taking on a similar posture to Chilean society of non-positionality. Students respond to this regime with frustration and confusion due to the actions of maintaining the memory regime in turn exposing a tension present between history and memory within the political and academic sphere of Chile.

Disciplines

Education Policy | Higher Education | Latin American History | Latin American Studies | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education | Social Justice

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