Testimony after Catastrophe: Narrating the Traumas of Political Violence

209 Pages·2006·3.022 MB·English

by  Stevan Weine

T A
ESTIMONY FTER
C
ATASTROPHE
Rethinking Theory
GENERAL EDITOR
Gary Saul Morson
CONSULTING EDITORS
Robert Alter
Frederick Crews
John M. Ellis
Caryl Emerson
T A
ESTIMONY FTER
C
ATASTROPHE
Narrating the Traumas of
Political Violence
Stevan Weine
Northwestern University Press
Evanston, Illinois
Northwestern University Press
www.nupress.northwestern.edu
Copyright © 2006 by Northwestern University Press. Published 2006. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 0-8101-2300-2 (cloth)
ISBN 0-8101-2301-0 (paper)
“Badlands” by Bruce Springsteen. Copyright © 1978 Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP). Reprinted by
permission. International copyright secured. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weine, Stevan M., 1961–
Testimony after catastrophe : narrating the traumas of political violence / Stevan Weine.
p. cm. — (Rethinking theory)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8101-2301-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8101-2300-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Torture victims—Rehabilitation. 2. Victims of state-sponsored terrorism—Mental health.
3. Narration (Rhetoric) —Psychological aspects. 4. Dialogism (Literary analysis). 5. Bakhtin, M. M.
(Mikhail Mikhailovich), 1895–1975—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. II. Series.
HV8593.W45 2006
362.87—dc22
2005034756
oThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National
Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI
Z39.48-1992.
To my father and mother

We’ll keep pushin’ till it’s understood
And these badlands start treating us good.
—Bruce Springsteen, “Badlands”

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
PART I. TESTIMONIES IN FOUR SPACES
Chapter 1
Torture Testimonies 5
Chapter 2
Holocaust Testimonies 25
Chapter 3
Testimonies from Wartime Bosnia-Herzegovina 47
Chapter 4
Kosovar Testimonies 71
PART II. TESTIMONY AS DIALOGIC WORK
Chapter 5
Introducing Bakhtin’s Dialogic Work 91
Chapter 6
Relieving Suffering 95
Chapter 7
Creating Cultures of Peace and Reconciliation 119
Chapter 8
Documenting Histories 141
Afterword 157
Notes 161
Index 173