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Silencing the past in the name of peace: A study of remembrance of chosen traumas in Mauritius

Anthony, Bénédicte LU (2024) SIMZ31 20241
Graduate School
Abstract
Just like many former colonies gaining independence, the small island state of
Mauritius emphasised certain elements of its history to shape a collective identity as part of its nation-building process. This construction of the collective memory involves instances of both collective remembering and forgetting. Certain traumas are chosen to be remembered while others are silenced with the risk of being forgotten if they are not often rehearsed in the overt public space. This thesis investigates the chosen traumas remembered in Mauritian official memory, as well as traumas forgotten by state institutions but remembered in non-official memory vessels. In studying the everyday, non-official memory of history, the study will make use of sega... (More)
Just like many former colonies gaining independence, the small island state of
Mauritius emphasised certain elements of its history to shape a collective identity as part of its nation-building process. This construction of the collective memory involves instances of both collective remembering and forgetting. Certain traumas are chosen to be remembered while others are silenced with the risk of being forgotten if they are not often rehearsed in the overt public space. This thesis investigates the chosen traumas remembered in Mauritian official memory, as well as traumas forgotten by state institutions but remembered in non-official memory vessels. In studying the everyday, non-official memory of history, the study will make use of sega songs, the national musical genre on the island, to determine the differences in the way history is remembered overtly and covertly by society. This discussion places itself within the wider study of silence as a strategy to keep the peace after an episode of violent racial conflict in a diverse, divided society. (Less)
Popular Abstract
This thesis investigates the chosen traumas remembered in Mauritian official memory, as well as traumas forgotten by state institutions but remembered in non-official memory vessels. In studying the everyday, non-official memory of history, the study will make use of sega songs, the national musical genre on the island, to determine the differences in the way history is remembered overtly and covertly by society. This discussion places itself within the wider study of silence as a strategy to keep the peace after an episode of violent racial conflict in a diverse, divided society.
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author
Anthony, Bénédicte LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ31 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Silence, everyday peace, chosen traumas, collective memory, Mauritian sega
language
English
id
9157051
date added to LUP
2024-06-26 12:33:14
date last changed
2024-06-26 12:33:14
@misc{9157051,
  abstract     = {{Just like many former colonies gaining independence, the small island state of
Mauritius emphasised certain elements of its history to shape a collective identity as part of its nation-building process. This construction of the collective memory involves instances of both collective remembering and forgetting. Certain traumas are chosen to be remembered while others are silenced with the risk of being forgotten if they are not often rehearsed in the overt public space. This thesis investigates the chosen traumas remembered in Mauritian official memory, as well as traumas forgotten by state institutions but remembered in non-official memory vessels. In studying the everyday, non-official memory of history, the study will make use of sega songs, the national musical genre on the island, to determine the differences in the way history is remembered overtly and covertly by society. This discussion places itself within the wider study of silence as a strategy to keep the peace after an episode of violent racial conflict in a diverse, divided society.}},
  author       = {{Anthony, Bénédicte}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Silencing the past in the name of peace: A study of remembrance of chosen traumas in Mauritius}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}