Half history and middle stories: village-like imaginaries in the context of State terrorism on trial

https://doi.org/10.25058/20112742.67

Ariel Gravano
ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5362-5843
arielgravano14@gmail.com
Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (unicen), Argentina

Abstract:

This anthropological work aims to present an instance where History “reaches” towns in inland province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Trials on State terrorism and humanright events of national trascendence are examined as case studies. We look into this by using the notion of urban identity imaginaries through which the analysis on how “the whole city” experiences those events becomes important. It is in these urban identity imaginaries where we can observe a contrast between metropoli-centralized History and local history, where an image of “quieteness” seems to be prevailing, so that it seems “never ever happens (or happened)”. We move forward to pose “the provincial” as a hub within urban-rural dialectics, and the involvement of “native” actors and observers, at the prospect of bringing into question both half-done History and their own middle histories.

Keywords: history, inland towns, human rights, countryside vs. city, provincial.