HomeThinking about postwar Latin America (19th and 20th centuries)

Thinking about postwar Latin America (19th and 20th centuries)

Penser l’après-guerre. Amériques latines (XIXe-XXe siècles)

*  *  *

Published on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 by Céline Guilleux

Summary

Issues de processus de désintégration des empires européens portugais et espagnols, l’Amérique latine et les nations qui la composent ont été portées sur les fonds baptismaux dans des contextes de guerres d’indépendance de plusieurs années (voire décennies) dont le caractère civil et la violence qu’elles ont engendrée, ainsi que la complexité des dynamiques à l’œuvre, ont été appréhendés de façon renouvelée par l’historiographie latino-américaniste, tant qu’en Amérique qu’en Europe. Il en va tout autrement des après-guerres. Cette journée d’études exploratoire vise donc à dresser un premier état des lieux historiographique sur ces questions dans les Amériques, en prenant pour borne de départ la première mobilisation armée du XIXe, à savoir les invasions anglaises de 1806 à Buenos Aires, jusqu’à la guerre du Chaco (1932-1935).

Announcement

Workshop at the University of Lille, June 11, 2019

Convenors

Véronique Hébrard (Univ. Lille, EA 4074 CECILLE)

Edward Blumenthal (Univ. Sorbonne Nouvelle, EA 2052 CRICCAL)

Argument

The Latin American countries that emerged from the disintegration of the Portuguese andSpanish empires were born in a context of independence wars that lasted years, if not decades,and whose civil character and the violence that they generated, as well as the complexity ofthe dynamics at work, have been understood in a new light by Latin Americanisthistoriography in America and Europe.

Postwar experiences are quite another matter. Over the past decades in France, and morebroadly in Europe, this field has expanded, as shown by innovating studies of 20th centuryEuropean conflicts, as well as the wars of decolonization, whether in social, cultural orpolitical history, or even international relations. With regards to Latin America, the periodfollowing the Cold War, characterized by military dictatorships and civil wars, has beenstudied in terms of democratic transitions and problems associated with human rights andtransitional justice.

On the other hand, the postwar problem it all of its diversity has not been studied forprevious periods, whether concerning the wars of independence at the beginning of the 19thcentury or the inter-American conflicts that shook the continent throughout the 19th and thebeginning of the 20th centuries. Civil wars, low intensity border wars, multinational warssuch as the Paraguay (1864-1870), the Pacific (1879-1883) or the Chaco (1932-1935) wars,whose civil dimensions are important, were nonetheless common. With regards to theParaguay and Chaco wars, the most consequential work has been done in the framework ofinternational research projects and edited volumes, but historians have not taken up the mantleof these studies. At the same time an epistemological reflection is still lacking on theimplementation of this type of study (in accordance with the chosen methodologicalapproach) or on the sources likely to illuminate the different facets of postwar experiences.

This exploratory workshop aims to draw up an historiographical appraisal of thesequestions in the Americas, taking a starting point the first armed mobilizations of the 19thcentury such as the English invasions of Buenos Aires in 1806 up to the Chaco war.

The papers might look at this question from the perspective of law (peace treaties,amnesties...), the return of exiles and soldiers, benefits granted to demobilized soldiers,widows and orphans as well as the injured (whether physically or psychologically) as well asthe commemorative practices and the production of consensual narratives and the impact ofwar on currents of philosophical or political thought (pacifism, for example), literature,epistolary exchange or artistic expression (theatre, music, painting, statues, war photography).

Submission guidelines

The proposals, including an abstract and a brief CV, should be sent to veronique.hebrard@univ-lille.fr and edward.blumenthal@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr.

  • January 15 2019: deadline for sending paper proposals

  • March 1: notification of selected proposals
  • June 11: workshop at the University of Lille

Places

  • Lille, France (59)

Date(s)

  • Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Keywords

  • après-guerre, Amérique latine, mémoire, commémoration

Contact(s)

  • Edward Blumenthal
    courriel : edward [dot] blumenthal [at] sorbonne-nouvelle [dot] fr

Information source

  • Edward Blumenthal
    courriel : edward [dot] blumenthal [at] sorbonne-nouvelle [dot] fr

To cite this announcement

« Thinking about postwar Latin America (19th and 20th centuries) », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, December 19, 2018, https://calenda.org/526418

Archive this announcement

  • Google Agenda
  • iCal