Memory from the Margins

Reviews / Votes

"Bridget Conley's study of the Ethiopian museum of the Red Terror of 1976-1978 shows powerfully how the voice of those on the margins of political life can create a memorial space which destabilizes the present and gestures towards a less violent future. Memory does not heal, she shows; it disturbs us and reminds us that nothing in our world is fixed in stone. Here is a stunning work of compassionate scholarship, arising from the author's engagement with ordinary men and women and the terrifying memories of their past." (Jay Winter, Charles J. Stille Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University, USA)"The Ethiopian Red Terror is the most significant and least studied atrocity of late twentieth century Africa. This book is the essential work on its memorialization." (Alex de Waal, World Peace Foundation, Tufts University, USA) "Bridget Conley's study is a valuable addition to the literature on memory after violence not only because it addresses a context andsubject that have been little discussed before, but because it does so in a way that integrates a deep theoretical reflection with empirical data and an engagement with transitional justice, memory studies and trauma to discuss the challenges and possibilities of memorial museums." (Simon Robbins, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, UK) "In this exploration of the forces that have shaped contemporary meanings of Ethiopia's Red Terror, Bridget Connelly brings to international attention the Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum while sensitively observing the ambiguities of memory for survivors, communities, and nations that are grappling with a violent past." (Paige Arthur, Deputy Director, New York University's Center on International Cooperation, USA) "Bridget Conley's work on the Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum re-inserts Ethiopia's Red Terror trials into the global discussion on the murky, often contradictory literature on transitional justice; moreover, it offers groundbreaking research on the ways in which victim memorials are perceived by the creators, interpreters and visitors and how they trigger varied visceral responses and rouses both old and new memories. A must read for those interested in the relationship between memory and history." (Charles Schaefer, Department of International Studies, Valparaiso University, USA)"Memory from the Margins is a well-researched and original work that presents the Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum as both a reflection of international commemorative trends and a uniquely Ethiopian institution, contributing to our understanding of how local and national transitional justice and memory projects intersect with global norms and transnational forms of commemoration." (Amy Sodaro, Department of Social Sciences, Borough of Manhattan Community College/City University of New York, USA)