Publisher's Synopsis
When a society emerges from authoritarian rule, and the State no longer claims a monopoly on the truth, writing becomes essential - in representing rights, calling for justice, staking claims and counter-claims over what has happened, testifying to abuse, directing collective memory, or simply resisting amnesia. Such writing is a key element of Transitional Justice, whose juridical and historical origins lie in the Nuremberg trials of 1945-46, and which has since become increasingly important in former colonies and emerging democracies. Truth and reconciliation commissions are now able to hear narrative evidence of a kind which no court would previously have considered. This multi-disciplinary collection of essays focuses on the comparative study of literatures and testimonies written in the wake of violence and on their role in the aftermath of conflict.
