Her research explores 20 thcentury struggles over inequality, justice, historical memory, and social inclusion. It is a historical and ethnographic study of the archives generated by guatemalas national police, which were used as tools of state repression during the countrys 36year civil war, kept hidden from the united nations. Dec 09, 2015 in this episode of the history slam, i talk with kirsten weld of harvard university about her book paper cadavers. The discovery of the guatemalan archives 1417 words. The washington office on latin america wola and duke university have named kristen welds book, paper cadavers. Their organizations shape historical knowledge and national narratives about the past. Weld, professor of history at harvard university, will discuss her book of the same name, in which she examines the. Kirsten weld in paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the. Weld worked as a volunteer at the archives and the book benefits from her. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala 2014, offers a broad meditation on how history is produced as social knowledge, the labour behind transformative social change, and the stakes of the stories we tell ourselves about the past. Essential reading is an apt way to sum up paper cadavers. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala, kirsten weld illustrates how archival engagement allows the bureaucratic logic of surveillance, social control, and ideological management to be firmly subverted into one of democratic. Duke university press american encountersglobal interactions a series edited by gilbert m.
Jan 01, 2014 in paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the stakes of historical knowledge production. All kinds of ephemera, postcards, documents, catalogs, sheet music, prints, engravings, comics, photographs, advertising, coins, local history and so much more. In paper cadavers, kirsten weld tells the story of the ensuing project for the recovery of the national police historical archives the project, a foreignfunded initiative staffed by guatemalan activists charged with the rescue of 75 million documents, the largest. Weld, professor of history at harvard university, will discuss her book of the same name, in which she examines the discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala, was published by duke university press in 2014. The book weaves together issues of transitional justice, human rights, historical memory, and state. Whether private or public, holdings of individual, institutional, and government documents can serve to invade and control the lives of citizens and societies. A study of surveillance and secrecy and of the courageous few that expose that power, paper cadavers is a book for us all. It is a historical and ethnographic study of the archives generated by. Book overview in paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the stakes of historical knowledge production. Mar 21, 2014 paper cadavers is a model for rigorous, engaged scholarship. Paper cadavers the archives of dictatorship in guatemala. Kirsten weld harvard university history department.
We chat about the uncovering of the archives, the process of reclaiming the material, and the contested nature of building memory. In paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the stakes of historical knowledge. The washington office on latin america wola and duke university have named kirsten welds book, paper cadavers. The book weld has written, entitled paper cadavers. This book captured the importance of the discovery of the guatemalan archives. Apr 04, 2014 harvard book store welcomes assistant professor of history at harvard university kirsten weld for a discussion of her book paper cadavers. By marcus oliver golding archives, especially state archives, have political agendas. Paper cadavers is divided into four parts covering the initial discovery of the archive, the history of the police archive and its role in guatemalas counterinsurgency, the role of the archives in social reconstruction at the ends of war, and finally the institutionalization of the archive and the development of a new archival culture in.
The archives of dictatorship in guatemala american encountersglobal. In paper cadavers, kirsten weld tells the story of the astonishing discovery and rescue of 75 million pages of evidence of statesponsored crimes, and analyzes the repercussions for. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala in paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the stakes of. Typeset in whitman by copperline book services, inc. The archive, one of the largest used book and paper collectible stores in the state offers thousands of items for sale.
Library of congress cataloginginpublication data weld, kirsten, 1982 paper cadavers. The project began in 2005 with a chance discovery of an enormous warehouse of some 75 million documentsmost in advanced states of decaydating back to the nineteenth century. The archives were accidentally discovered in 2005 by investigators trying to determine if. I have yet to finish the whole book, but wanted to post in response to some of the bigger ideas and approaches that this text takes. Kirsten weld makes a powerful contribution to the field of human rights archives in her book, paper cadavers. In paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the stakes of historical knowledge production. Kirsten weld addresses these political issues of government. Levenson, revista welds chronicle of their efforts is extraordinary, less. That is, until 2005, when human rights investigators.
Harvard book store welcomes assistant professor of history at harvard university kirsten weld for a discussion of her book paper cadavers. Woladuke 2015 human right book award the devils tale. Sep 26, 2018 by marcus oliver golding archives, especially state archives, have political agendas. Praise the book weld has written, entitled paper cadavers. After guatemalas bloody thirtysix years of civil war 19601996, silence and impunity reigned. Borrow a book books on internet archive are offered in many formats, including daisy. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala duke university press, 2014 as the winner of the 2015 woladuke human rights book award. Paper cadavers weatherhead center for international affairs. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala duke university press, 2014 tells the story of the 2005 discovery of a vast police archive in guatemala. Weld herself worked as a volunteer on the project for six months, helping reconstruct the archives of counterinsurgency, and continues to be committed to the project. In 2005, human rights investigators stumbled on the archives of guatemalas national police.
The latter part of this course, we read kristen welds book paper cadavers. The book chronicles the transition from the first political agenda into the second with the goal of capturing the process through which a new. Weld will be at duke university libraries to receive the award, discuss and read from her book. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala in paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the stakes. Paper cadavers is not a compilation of the archives contents but rather a meditation on the relationship between archives and national history, accompanied by an account of the transformation of a rotting warehouse into the scene for writing history, and an exploration of the perceptions of the people who carried out this work. Pdf paper cadavers download full pdf book download. Apr 14, 2016 the washington office on latin america wola and duke university have named kirsten welds book, paper cadavers. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala 2014, analyzes how history is produced as social knowledge, the labour behind transformative social. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala duke university press, 2014 as the. Mar 21, 2014 in paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and rescue of guatemalas secret police archives, kirsten weld probes the politics of memory, the wages of the cold war, and the stakes of historical knowledge production. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala, kirsten weld illustrates how archival engagement allows the bureaucratic logic of surveillance, social control, and ideological management to be firmly subverted into one of democratic opening, historical memory, and the pursuit of justice p. Officials had long denied that it existed, and for good reason, because it documented years of kidnapping and murder under the auspices of counterinsurgency.
The archives of dictatorship in guatemala, kirsten weld docu. Welds paper cadavers is a beautifully written, utterly absorbing history of the guatemalan police archives. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala by weld at over 30 bookstores. Paper cadavers the archives of dictatorship in guatemala book. An intense amount of work was put into recovering approximately 80 million documents from the government after decades of internal warfare. In july 2005, investigators in guatemala city looking for improperly stored ammunition unexpectedly stumbled upon another type of. Paper cadavers is a model for rigorous, engaged scholarship. While animating the pn as a fullfledged institutional actor, the book also narrates the process that allowed weld to tell that story in the first place. In 2005, investigators searching a guatemala city neighborhood for explosives stumbled upon the national police archives. Paper cadavers on apple books apple books apple apple.
The internet archive offers over 20,000,000 freely downloadable books and texts. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala, kirsten weld docu ments the recovery and processing of the archives of guatemalas national police pn and the effect that the archives discovery had on guatemalan society and politics. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala 2014, analyzes how history is produced as social knowledge, the labour behind transformative social change, and the stakes of the stories we tell about. Weld came to duke university libraries on february 11th, 2016 to receive the award, discuss and read from her book. Archives of dictatorship in guatemala, is brilliant and engrossing, told with the passion the topic deserves. Specifically the framing of the archive of the national police as a body itself, that. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala duke university press, 2014 as. The archives of dictatorship in guatemala by kirsten weld durham, n. In paper cadavers, an inside account of the astonishing discovery and. In this episode of the history slam, i talk with kirsten weld of harvard university about her book paper cadavers. Her research explores 20 th century struggles over inequality, justice, historical memory, and social inclusion. Kirsten weld is a historian of modern latin america. After guatemalas bloody thirtysix years of civil war 19601996, silence.