I am a doctoral researcher from the History Department at Ghent University, Belgium. My areas of expertise include visual and participatory ethnographic research, memory politics, history & displacement and 'post-conflict' & environmental justice. During my research trajectory, I gradually developed a participatory, filmmaking-based approach to explore collective narrative capacity and indigenous community resistance in 'post-conflict' Guatemala. I co-founded the international Participatory Video Festival (PVF) and ENCUENTRO, the Belgian Latin America Network. I am also a member of the interdisciplinary research forum TAPAS/Thinking About the PASt (Ghent University) and an associated research fellow at the Ghent Human Rights Centre. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Berber Bevernage and Prof. Dr. Eva Brems Address: Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging... more The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging position and puts its social relevance under scrutiny. With this design paper I want to reflect upon possible contributions of historians in this multidisciplinary field. First, I briefly introduce the fields of TJ, memory studies and meta-history. Secondly, I suggest how truth commissions could benefit from a meta-historical perspective. Subsequently, I expand the possible role of historians through the idea of memory-politics and narrative inequality. I also bring in a historical time perspective to denounce the predominant exclusion of historical and on-going structural injustices in TJ. To conclude, a plea in favour of the inclusion of social, economical and cultural rights (SECR) allows me to connect TJ and development through the concepts of social and redistributive justice. // Selected paper published in the report of the Advanced Summer Course on Human Rights, Development and Transitional Justice (16 August - 11 September 2015, Leuven, Belgium)
Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of deal... more Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of dealing ‘properly’ with the past is one of the burning political issues of our time, and often has a direct impact on today’s society. Recent civil war in Peru and Guatemala has inflicted deep wounds, which have been difficult to heal and come to terms with. So far, the search for truth, reparation and justice (transitional justice) has been mainly examined from a legal and political perspective. However, in post-conflict situations, present, past and future are so much intertwined that historians too can play a prominent role. This article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Peru and Guatemala, tries to point out that historical wounds can go together with a multitude of memories and potentially conflicting views of the past. Only by acknowledging the plurality of these memories one can pave a way from violent conflict to democracy. In our opinion, a proper understanding of a painful past and the way it is being remembered (or not), is indispensable in the transition to democracy. By demonstrating how historians can contribute to transitional justice, we hope that future research on how to deal with a violent past may transcend the factual truth and create relevant intellectual contexts in today’s society.
Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, ‘the returnees’ from the Guat... more Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, ‘the returnees’ from the Guatemalan campesino community ‘Copal AA la Esperanza’ are now defending their territory against the construction of a hydroelectric dam. The returnees unexpectedly mobilized me as a Belgian historian to ‘make’ their ‘shared history’ and produce a documentary about their past and present struggle. The aim of this article is to reflect on how and why I developed a participatory, filmmaking-based methodology to tackle this challenge. I focus on filmmaking, participation and knowledge production to demonstrate the epistemological and ethical benefits of a dialogue between disciplines and methodologies as much as between academic and community practices and concepts. As such, I exemplify my visual participatory approach through its engagement with post-colonial histories and the co-creation of shared knowledge at the intersection of community and research interests. Moreover, I demonstrate how f...
Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, 'the returnees' from the Guat... more Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, 'the returnees' from the Guatemalan campesino community 'Copal AA la Esperanza' are now defending their territory against the construction of a hydroelectric dam. The returnees unexpectedly mobilized me as a Belgian historian to 'make' their 'shared history' and produce a documentary about their past and present struggle. The aim of this article is to reflect on how and why I developed a participatory, filmmaking-based methodology to tackle this challenge. I focus on filmmaking, participation and knowledge production to demonstrate the epistemological and ethical benefits of a dialogue between disciplines and methodologies as much as between academic and community practices and concepts. As such, I exemplify my visual participatory approach through its engagement with post-colonial histories and the co-creation of shared knowledge at the intersection of community and research interests. Moreover, I demonstrate how filmmaking can be developed as a grounded, visual, and narrative approach connecting media activism with 'performative ethnography'. Combining insights from participatory action research (PAR) with Johannes Fabian's notion of 'performance', I argue for 'nonextractivist methodologies'; 'knowing with' instead of 'knowing-about'. From being a side project and a matter of research ethics, participatory filmmaking turned for me into an investigative tool to explore the collective production and mobilization of historical narratives. I argue that participatory research should not be limited to communities participating in research projects; researchers can equally participate in community projects without this obstructing scientific research. In sum, participatory visual methods challenge us to reconsider the role of academics in (post-conflict) settings.
The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging... more The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging position and puts its social relevance under scrutiny. With this design paper I want to reflect upon possible contributions of historians in this multidisciplinary field. First, I briefly introduce the fields of TJ, memory studies and meta-history. Secondly, I suggest how truth commissions could benefit from a meta-historical perspective. Subsequently, I expand the possible role of historians through the idea of memory-politics and narrative inequality. I also bring in a historical time perspective to denounce the predominant exclusion of historical and on-going structural injustices in TJ. To conclude, a plea in favour of the inclusion of social, economical and cultural rights (SECR) allows me to connect TJ and development through the concepts of social and redistributive justice. // Selected paper published in the report of the Advanced Summer Course on Human Rights, Development and Transitional Justice (16 August - 11 September 2015, Leuven, Belgium)
Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of deal... more Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of dealing ‘properly’ with the past is one of the burning political issues of our time, and often has a direct impact on today’s society. Recent civil war in Peru and Guatemala has inflicted deep wounds, which have been difficult to heal and come to terms with. So far, the search for truth, reparation and justice (transitional justice) has been mainly examined from a legal and political perspective. However, in post-conflict situations, present, past and future are so much intertwined that historians too can play a prominent role. This article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Peru and Guatemala, tries to point out that historical wounds can go together with a multitude of memories and potentially conflicting views of the past. Only by acknowledging the plurality of these memories one can pave a way from violent conflict to democracy. In our opinion, a proper understanding of a painful past and the way it is being remembered (or not), is indispensable in the transition to democracy. By demonstrating how historians can contribute to transitional justice, we hope that future research on how to deal with a violent past may transcend the factual truth and create relevant intellectual contexts in today’s society.
Book review: "Telling and Being Told. Storytelling and Cultural Control in Contemporary Yucatec M... more Book review: "Telling and Being Told. Storytelling and Cultural Control in Contemporary Yucatec Maya Literatures", by Paul M. Worley
De gepaste houding ten opzichte van het beladen verleden vormt één van de grote politieke vraag... more De gepaste houding ten opzichte van het beladen verleden vormt één van de grote politieke vraagstukken van onze tijd. In deze paper wordt het belang van culturele context bij transitional justice onderzocht en dit specifiek voor het verwerkingsproces van het Intern Gewapend Conflict in Guatemala (1960-1998).
De gepaste houding ten opzichte van een beladen verleden is één van de grote politieke vraagstu... more De gepaste houding ten opzichte van een beladen verleden is één van de grote politieke vraagstukken van onze tijd. In dit werk werd getracht een reconstructie en ontleding van het actuele debat rond geschiedenis en herinnering in naoorlogs Guatemala weer te geven. Als onderdeel van dat debat onderzocht deze scriptie in haar hoofddoelstelling hoe verschillende actoren binnen de samenleving naar de geschiedenis kijken en haar betekenis toekennen. De focus lag daarbij vooral op het intern gewapend conflict (1960-1998). Een centrale thematiek was het spanningsveld tussen het ‘orde bevestigende’ en kritische of emancipatorische potentieel van geschiedenis. Daarnaast werd er in de scriptie hoofdzakelijk aandacht geschonken aan tijdsregimes en historiciteitspolitiek.
The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging... more The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging position and puts its social relevance under scrutiny. With this design paper I want to reflect upon possible contributions of historians in this multidisciplinary field. First, I briefly introduce the fields of TJ, memory studies and meta-history. Secondly, I suggest how truth commissions could benefit from a meta-historical perspective. Subsequently, I expand the possible role of historians through the idea of memory-politics and narrative inequality. I also bring in a historical time perspective to denounce the predominant exclusion of historical and on-going structural injustices in TJ. To conclude, a plea in favour of the inclusion of social, economical and cultural rights (SECR) allows me to connect TJ and development through the concepts of social and redistributive justice. // Selected paper published in the report of the Advanced Summer Course on Human Rights, Development and Transitional Justice (16 August - 11 September 2015, Leuven, Belgium)
Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of deal... more Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of dealing ‘properly’ with the past is one of the burning political issues of our time, and often has a direct impact on today’s society. Recent civil war in Peru and Guatemala has inflicted deep wounds, which have been difficult to heal and come to terms with. So far, the search for truth, reparation and justice (transitional justice) has been mainly examined from a legal and political perspective. However, in post-conflict situations, present, past and future are so much intertwined that historians too can play a prominent role. This article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Peru and Guatemala, tries to point out that historical wounds can go together with a multitude of memories and potentially conflicting views of the past. Only by acknowledging the plurality of these memories one can pave a way from violent conflict to democracy. In our opinion, a proper understanding of a painful past and the way it is being remembered (or not), is indispensable in the transition to democracy. By demonstrating how historians can contribute to transitional justice, we hope that future research on how to deal with a violent past may transcend the factual truth and create relevant intellectual contexts in today’s society.
Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, ‘the returnees’ from the Guat... more Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, ‘the returnees’ from the Guatemalan campesino community ‘Copal AA la Esperanza’ are now defending their territory against the construction of a hydroelectric dam. The returnees unexpectedly mobilized me as a Belgian historian to ‘make’ their ‘shared history’ and produce a documentary about their past and present struggle. The aim of this article is to reflect on how and why I developed a participatory, filmmaking-based methodology to tackle this challenge. I focus on filmmaking, participation and knowledge production to demonstrate the epistemological and ethical benefits of a dialogue between disciplines and methodologies as much as between academic and community practices and concepts. As such, I exemplify my visual participatory approach through its engagement with post-colonial histories and the co-creation of shared knowledge at the intersection of community and research interests. Moreover, I demonstrate how f...
Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, 'the returnees' from the Guat... more Following previous experiences of violence and forced displacement, 'the returnees' from the Guatemalan campesino community 'Copal AA la Esperanza' are now defending their territory against the construction of a hydroelectric dam. The returnees unexpectedly mobilized me as a Belgian historian to 'make' their 'shared history' and produce a documentary about their past and present struggle. The aim of this article is to reflect on how and why I developed a participatory, filmmaking-based methodology to tackle this challenge. I focus on filmmaking, participation and knowledge production to demonstrate the epistemological and ethical benefits of a dialogue between disciplines and methodologies as much as between academic and community practices and concepts. As such, I exemplify my visual participatory approach through its engagement with post-colonial histories and the co-creation of shared knowledge at the intersection of community and research interests. Moreover, I demonstrate how filmmaking can be developed as a grounded, visual, and narrative approach connecting media activism with 'performative ethnography'. Combining insights from participatory action research (PAR) with Johannes Fabian's notion of 'performance', I argue for 'nonextractivist methodologies'; 'knowing with' instead of 'knowing-about'. From being a side project and a matter of research ethics, participatory filmmaking turned for me into an investigative tool to explore the collective production and mobilization of historical narratives. I argue that participatory research should not be limited to communities participating in research projects; researchers can equally participate in community projects without this obstructing scientific research. In sum, participatory visual methods challenge us to reconsider the role of academics in (post-conflict) settings.
The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging... more The developing field of transitional justice (TJ) places academic historiography in a challenging position and puts its social relevance under scrutiny. With this design paper I want to reflect upon possible contributions of historians in this multidisciplinary field. First, I briefly introduce the fields of TJ, memory studies and meta-history. Secondly, I suggest how truth commissions could benefit from a meta-historical perspective. Subsequently, I expand the possible role of historians through the idea of memory-politics and narrative inequality. I also bring in a historical time perspective to denounce the predominant exclusion of historical and on-going structural injustices in TJ. To conclude, a plea in favour of the inclusion of social, economical and cultural rights (SECR) allows me to connect TJ and development through the concepts of social and redistributive justice. // Selected paper published in the report of the Advanced Summer Course on Human Rights, Development and Transitional Justice (16 August - 11 September 2015, Leuven, Belgium)
Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of deal... more Countries across the world are facing reconstruction of their war-torn societies. The way of dealing ‘properly’ with the past is one of the burning political issues of our time, and often has a direct impact on today’s society. Recent civil war in Peru and Guatemala has inflicted deep wounds, which have been difficult to heal and come to terms with. So far, the search for truth, reparation and justice (transitional justice) has been mainly examined from a legal and political perspective. However, in post-conflict situations, present, past and future are so much intertwined that historians too can play a prominent role. This article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Peru and Guatemala, tries to point out that historical wounds can go together with a multitude of memories and potentially conflicting views of the past. Only by acknowledging the plurality of these memories one can pave a way from violent conflict to democracy. In our opinion, a proper understanding of a painful past and the way it is being remembered (or not), is indispensable in the transition to democracy. By demonstrating how historians can contribute to transitional justice, we hope that future research on how to deal with a violent past may transcend the factual truth and create relevant intellectual contexts in today’s society.
Book review: "Telling and Being Told. Storytelling and Cultural Control in Contemporary Yucatec M... more Book review: "Telling and Being Told. Storytelling and Cultural Control in Contemporary Yucatec Maya Literatures", by Paul M. Worley
De gepaste houding ten opzichte van het beladen verleden vormt één van de grote politieke vraag... more De gepaste houding ten opzichte van het beladen verleden vormt één van de grote politieke vraagstukken van onze tijd. In deze paper wordt het belang van culturele context bij transitional justice onderzocht en dit specifiek voor het verwerkingsproces van het Intern Gewapend Conflict in Guatemala (1960-1998).
De gepaste houding ten opzichte van een beladen verleden is één van de grote politieke vraagstu... more De gepaste houding ten opzichte van een beladen verleden is één van de grote politieke vraagstukken van onze tijd. In dit werk werd getracht een reconstructie en ontleding van het actuele debat rond geschiedenis en herinnering in naoorlogs Guatemala weer te geven. Als onderdeel van dat debat onderzocht deze scriptie in haar hoofddoelstelling hoe verschillende actoren binnen de samenleving naar de geschiedenis kijken en haar betekenis toekennen. De focus lag daarbij vooral op het intern gewapend conflict (1960-1998). Een centrale thematiek was het spanningsveld tussen het ‘orde bevestigende’ en kritische of emancipatorische potentieel van geschiedenis. Daarnaast werd er in de scriptie hoofdzakelijk aandacht geschonken aan tijdsregimes en historiciteitspolitiek.
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So far, the search for truth, reparation and justice (transitional justice) has been mainly examined from a legal and political perspective. However, in post-conflict situations, present, past and future are so much intertwined that historians too can play a prominent role. This article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Peru and Guatemala, tries to point out that historical wounds can go together with a multitude of memories and potentially conflicting views of the past. Only by acknowledging the plurality of these memories one can pave a way from violent conflict to democracy. In our opinion, a proper understanding of a painful past and the way it is being remembered (or not), is indispensable in the transition to democracy.
By demonstrating how historians can contribute to transitional justice, we hope that future research on how to deal with a violent past may transcend the factual truth and create relevant intellectual contexts in today’s society.
So far, the search for truth, reparation and justice (transitional justice) has been mainly examined from a legal and political perspective. However, in post-conflict situations, present, past and future are so much intertwined that historians too can play a prominent role. This article, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Peru and Guatemala, tries to point out that historical wounds can go together with a multitude of memories and potentially conflicting views of the past. Only by acknowledging the plurality of these memories one can pave a way from violent conflict to democracy. In our opinion, a proper understanding of a painful past and the way it is being remembered (or not), is indispensable in the transition to democracy.
By demonstrating how historians can contribute to transitional justice, we hope that future research on how to deal with a violent past may transcend the factual truth and create relevant intellectual contexts in today’s society.