This Palgrave Handbook examines the ways in which researchers and practitioners theorise, analyse, produce and make use of testimony. It explores the full range of testimony in the public sphere, including perpetrator testimony, testimony presented through social media and virtual reality. A growing body of research shows how complex and multi-layered testimony can be, how much this complexity adds to our understanding of our past, and how creators and users of testimony have their own complex purposes. These advances indicate that many of our existing assumptions about testimony and models for working with it need to be revisited. The purpose of this Palgrave Handbook is to do just that by bringing together a wide range of disciplinary, theoretical, methodological, and practice-based perspectives.
Author(s): Sara Jones, Roger Woods
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 636
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction: Testimony in Culture and Cultures of Testimony
1 The Qualities of Testimony
2 Concepts in Testimony
3 Mediations and Methodologies
4 The Ethics and Practice of Testimony
References
Part I: Concepts in Testimony
Bearing Witness as Truth Practice: The Twofold—Discursive and Existential—Character of Telling Truth in Testimony
References
Bearing Witness as a Boundary Case: Survivor Testimony, Legal Testimony and Historical Testimony
1 Systematic Distinction Between Different Testimonial Figures and Its Limits
2 The Survivor-Witness at Court: A Boundary Case of Law and Justice
3 The Question of ‘Truth’ and the Witnesses’ Truths
4 Testimony in Law and the Immediacy of Witnessing
5 From Trial to Tribunal: The Making of History at Court
6 The Witness as Media Figure and Boundary Case of Law and History
7 “Event Without a Witness” and the “Paradox of Testimony”: Pathos Formulae of Theory
8 Surviving Testimonies and Testimonies of Non-Survivors
References
Testimonies in Historiography and Oral History
1 Introduction
2 Testimonies, Sources, Documents and Evidence
3 Victim Testimonies and Historiography After the Holocaust
4 Oral History as Testimony
5 Authenticity and Accuracy
6 Conclusion: Where Next?
References
Gendered Testimonies at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century
1 Introduction
2 Definitions
3 Gendered Testimonies in Art and Literature
4 Gendered Testimonies Online
5 Coda
References
Queer Dignity: Intersections of Testimonial Queerness in Theatre, Performance and the Visual Arts
References
The Cultural Contexts of Testimony: The WEIRDness of Global Cosmopolitan Norms
1 Testimony and Human Rights
2 Three Differences to Keep in Mind: Politics, Types of Violence and Worldviews
3 Towards a Decolonial Critique
4 Conclusion: Towards a Decolonial Practice of Memory
References
Part II: Mediations and Methodologies
Autobiography as Testimony
1 Definitions: Autobiography, Testimony and Autobiography as Testimony
2 Approaches to Autobiography as Testimony
3 Using Autobiography as Testimony
4 New Forms of Autobiographical Testimony
5 Towards an Ethical Use of Autobiography as Testimony
References
Fictionalisation of Testimony
1 Introduction
2 Productive Tensions and Contradictions
2.1 The Literary Versus the Testimonial
2.2 Fact Versus Fiction
2.3 Subjective Versus Historical Truth
2.4 Performativity Versus Authenticity
3 Self-Reflexive Fictionalisation: Two Case Studies
3.1 What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng: A Novel
3.2 Country of My Skull
4 A Writer’s Reflection on the Transformation of Experience into Literature: Carmen-Francesca Banciu
4.1 Maria-Maria as an Alter Ego and Fictional Character
4.2 Realism, Surrealism, Truth and Fiction
4.3 Art and Testimony (On Stage)
4.4 Historical Truth and Personal Experience
5 Functions and Effects of Fictionalisation for Testimony
5.1 (Self-)Reflection
5.2 Truth as Multifaceted
5.3 Trauma, Gaps and Silences
5.4 Affect, Engagement and Advocacy
5.5 Juxtaposition and Contradiction
6 Conclusion
References
Testimony and Film
1 The Politics of Truth/Trust and the “Documentary Pact”
2 A Poetics of the Testimonial Voice
3 Realistic Epistemology Under Siege: Performing Truth and Suspending Trust
4 Conclusions
References
Filming Interviews with Witnesses to Genocide
1 Introduction
2 Filmed Oral History: A Model of Neutrality?
3 Three Types of Dispositives Created for Shoah (Lanzmann, 1985)
3.1 Putting into Perspective the Codes of Filmed Oral History
3.2 Direct Cinema: Another Collection Mode
3.3 Re-Enactment: The Place of Bodies and Gestures
4 Putting this First Typology to the Test
5 Towards a Fourth Category: The Use of Hidden Cameras
5.1 The Use of the Paluche in Shoah
5.2 Hidden Cameras: Beyond Shoah
6 Ethical Issues
7 The Role of Editing
8 Conclusion
References
The Sensual Memory of Shoah: The Meaning of Sound, Touch and Taste in the Culture of Testimonies
1 Ambiguities of Witnessing
2 Remembering of the Body
3 Listening: Son of Saul
4 Touching: Sea Lavender or the Euphoria of Being
5 Tasting: Recipes for Survival
6 Conclusion
References
Digital Testimony and Social Media
1 Introduction
2 Biographical and Political Contexts
3 Critical Question I
4 Critical Question II
5 Critical Question III
6 Concluding Comments
References
Distributed Remembering: Virtual Reality Testimonies and Immersive Witnessing
1 Spatialising Testimony in VR: The Space as Witness
2 VR as a “Tool” in Forensic Analysis
3 VR as “Empathy Machine”
4 VR and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
5 VR and Distributed Remembering
6 Conclusion
References
Digital Archiving and Teaching with German-Language Testimony on the Holocaust in the Twenty-First Century: A German and Transnational Perspective
1 Introduction
2 Contextualising Archives and Collections of Holocaust Testimony in Transnational Memory Landscapes and the Digital and Hyperconnective Age: An Overview
2.1 Teaching with Testimony through Digital Archives
3 Framing, Archiving and Teaching with Testimonies of the Broadcast Era, the Digital Age and the Hyperconnective Age
3.1 Interview for the Visual History Archive, 1998 (Interview Code 48608, VHA)
3.2 Interview for the Online-Archive Forced Labor, 2006
3.3 Interview for the German-Language Dimensions in Testimony Interview, 2019
4 Conclusion
References
Part III: The Ethics and Practice of Testimony
Testimony, Memorialisation and Museums: A Crisis in Holocaust Education?
1 Introduction
2 Testimony and the Memorialisation of the Holocaust
3 Crisis in Holocaust Education and the End of Live Testimony
4 The Forever Project
5 The Journey App
6 Testimony, Memorialisation and Museums: A Crisis in Holocaust Education?
References
Testimony in Public Commemoration and Education for the United Kingdom’s Holocaust Memorial Day
1 Introduction
2 What Is Holocaust Memorial Day and What Is the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust?
3 Educational Aims
4 The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s Various Uses of Testimony
5 Life Stories
6 Reflections on Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Resources as Testimony in Light of Current Academic Research
7 The Impact and Reach of the Resources
8 Future Challenges and How the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Might Address Them
9 Conclusion: Is It Legitimate to Draw “Lessons” from the Holocaust?
References
Testifying to Genocide: A Creative and Critical Use of Memory and Testimony in Holocaust Education in the UK and Canada
1 Challenges in Memorial and Testimonial Practices
2 Memory Matters Today: Combining Drama and Research in the UK
2.1 Educational Background
2.2 Project Rationale and Design
2.3 Project Findings
2.4 Project Observations
3 Narrative Art and Visual Storytelling in Holocaust and Human Rights Education in Canada
3.1 Educational Background
3.2 Project Rationale
3.3 Project Design
3.4 The Artistic Co-creation Process: Barbara Yelin and Emmie Arbel
3.5 Educational Engagement
3.6 Project Analysis: New Perspectives on Testimony
4 Conclusion: Creative and Critical Thinking Skills in Holocaust and Genocide Education
References
Bearing Witness: Testimony and Transitional Justice in the Aftermath of Mass Violence
1 Introduction: Testimony and Transitional Justice
2 What Is Transitional Justice?
3 Witnesses: Motivations for Testifying
4 Witnesses: Security and Support
4.1 Transitional Justice Mechanisms
4.2 Criminal Tribunals
4.3 Truth and Reconciliation Commissions
4.4 Memorials
5 Researchers and the Collection and Use of Testimony
6 Conclusion
References
Culture Clash: Doing Justice and Bearing Witness in the Testimonial Process at War Crimes Tribunals
1 The Cultural Context of the Witness Journey
2 Tension Between Legal and Psychosocial Models
3 Culture Clash
4 Legal and Psychosocial Model Culture Clash
4.1 Doing Justice and Doing No Harm
4.2 Rights of the Accused and Witness Rights
4.3 Language and Communication
4.4 Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives
5 Conclusion
References
The Rhetoric of Witnessing: Political Address, Historical Justice, and Commemoration of Traumatic Events
1 Witnessing as a Rhetorical Act
2 Political Address
3 Historical Justice
4 Commemoration of Traumatic Events
5 Conclusion
References
Community Education Projects Giving Voice: The Use of Testimony to Facilitate Understanding in Pursuit of Justice and Sustainable Peace in a Society Emerging from Conflict
1 Introduction
1.1 The Case for and Against Formal Truth-Telling Mechanisms
1.2 The Case for and Against Community-Based Responses
1.3 Northern Ireland and the Use of Testimony
2 Challenges in the Northern Ireland Context
2.1 The Centrality of Trust
2.2 Hierarchy of Victims
3 The Purpose: Memory, Truth, Justice, Peace?
4 Developing Epilogues: Perspectives in Conflict (Stephen Gargan)
4.1 Gaslight Productions Established
4.2 Testimony and the Story of Bloody Sunday
4.3 Opening a Window: The Context for Epilogues
4.4 Listening to Others: The Consultation Process
4.5 Excavating Other Stories: The Interview Process
4.6 Recruiting for the Epilogues Workshop Education Programme
5 Epilogues Multimedia Workshop Education Programme (Jim Keys)
5.1 Epilogues: A Microcosm of Democratic Praxis
6 Conclusion: Using Testimony in Societies Emerging from Conflict
References
Testimony on Whose Terms? The Cultural Politics of Forced Migration Testimony
1 The Construction and Constriction of Asylum Testimony
2 The Terms and Conditions of Asylum Testimony
3 The Testimonial Possibilities of Performance Poetry
References
Perpetrator Testimony
1 Terminology
2 The Audience
3 Self-justification
4 Eliciting Testimony
5 Confession
6 Filtering Evil
7 Strategies for Working with Perpetrator Testimony
8 Perpetrator Documentaries
9 Working with Perpetrator Testimony for Educational Purposes
10 Conclusion
References
Testimonies of the Self and Others: Sara Jones and Emilie Pine in Dialogue
References
Index
