240032 VO BM7 Violence - forms of memory, the emergence of narratives and transgenerational impact (2024S)

Teaching content
The emergence of narratives is examined discussing different forms of mass violence in the last century. The regional focus is on West Asia and the Caucasus.
Questions of denial of state violence, the enforced silence of survivors afterwards, i.e. questions of 'hidden genocides' (Stanley Cohen), of 'remembering and forgetting' (Paul Connerton), of concealment, denial (Tony Robben) and of active coping are discussed. The role of the media in the representation and treatment of conflicts is critically examined. Finally, the importance of artistic forms of expression will be discussed. People are often at the end of their capacities when it comes to recounting extreme violence they have suffered or witnessed or presenting it in comprehensible narratives. Art and art productions play an essential role in expressing and conveying the unspeakable. After all, art plays a significant role in the creation of cultures of remembrance and commemoration.
The following historical events, their narratives, transgenerational transmission and forms of art production will be the main focus: The persecution of Christian and demographically small religious communities during World War I in the Ottoman Empire - the mass violence against Alevi communities in the 1930s and 1980s - the genocidal violence against Kurds in Iraq in the 1980s and the persecution of Yezidis by IS from 2016 onwards.
In the main part of the course, theoretical approaches from the Anthropology of Violence and Conflict, Memory Studies and Media and Anthropology of Art will be discussed. The emergence of memory in the generation of survivors, transgenerational effectiveness and narratives in the next generations will be analysed. Attention will also be paid to gender-specific violence. The emergence of forms of memory will be outlined using the example of different representations (visual arts, film, music productions).
Teaching objectives
The theoretical instruments of KSA will be introduced in order to be able to examine such processes. The long-term consequences that last for generations are discussed. Students will learn about the long-term social effects that forms of extreme violence can have and the relevance of social anthropological tools for analysis. Finally, students should be able to apply these approaches to their own research.
Teaching methods
Frontal teaching; each course unit is assigned a compulsory literature; discussion of the compulsory literature; at least one guest lecture; multimedia material is used to further illustrate the methodological instruments of KSA and discuss their application.