Memory in place. On terror in the Argentine Clandestine Detention Centers

Abstract

The traumatic event that signified the latest military dictatorship (1976-1983) generated, among other cultural reactions, a series of narratives that have been dealing with the deconstruction of that horror machine that was represented by the state terrorism. In some testimonial accounts such as La escuelita. Relatos testimoniales (Partnoy 1985), Pasos bajo el agua (Kozameh 1987) and Imaginación y prisión (Ricciardino 1998) published at different stages of that deconstruction process, some central concepts that may help in this puzzle-solving task are presented. I will be analyzing, fundamentally, the relationships between different genres and state terrorism manifestations both in fiction and literary testimonies about the military dictatorship and I will focus on the gothic-horror-space aspect, paying special attention to the varied moods through which horror can express itself, achieved following some specific writing procedures.

Keywords

• memoria
• terror
• dictadura
• gótico
• espacio