Paper short abstract:

In a case study from urban middle class Colombia, I investigate transgenerational memories of the Bogotazo. Assuming that different memories predominate in the family realm compared to “official” history, I will develop a dialogical concept of the construction of historical.

Paper long abstract:

The paper I would like to present analyzes processes of transgenerational transmission of memories and their conversion into historical consciousness. In a case study from urban middle class Colombia, I investigate which stories of the past concerning a particular event called the Bogotazo, are transmitted through the generations. The Bogotazo stands out as an emblematic moment in the history of the Colombian past, when the liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán was killed april 9th, 1948. The date is often referred to as the decisive moment in which the still ongoing conflict reached the Colombian capital.

Assuming that different memories predominate in the family realm compared to "official" history, a dialogical concept of the construction of historical consciousness will be developed. Memories about the Bogotazo were obtained with the help of oral history testimony and ethnographic field work and are analyzed following a dialogical conception of historical consciousness. The dialogical character of transgenerational memory as well as historical consciousness are underlined with the example. Furthermore, the focus on continuity instead of progress in historical consciousness is highlighted.