Spatial Production of Memory. Testimonies in Eastern Antioquia

Abstract

The spatial dimension exists in victims’ narratives not only as a site where events occur, but also as a structuring element of the meanings of memory. Socio-spatial studies allow us to understand the topic of interest: the spatial production of memory. The Colombian armed conflict in eastern Antioquia is used to examine how extreme experiences are interpreted through the spaces perceived, conceived, and lived. Testimonies of subterranean memories from people affected by the armed conflict are presented, with whom life stories were gathered through indepth interviews in 2024. It is found that the spatial dimension defines and transforms us in the midst of extreme situations, as it produces a framework that gives meaning to lived experience and, therefore, is inscribed in bodily, place-based, and material memory, as tangible and symbolic evidence of the past’s presence in the present.