1st Edition

The Marginalised in Genocide Narratives

By Giorgia Donà Copyright 2019
    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rwanda genocide. This volume, the product of over 20years of engagement with Rwanda and its diaspora, offers a timely reminder of the necessity of rethinking the genocide’s social history.



    Examining a range of marginal stories and using Rwanda as a case study, The Marginalised in Genocide Narratives’ analysis of the transformation of genocide into a powerful narrative of a nation establishes an innovative means of understanding the lived spaces of violence and its enduring legacy. In a distinctive approach to the social history of genocide, this book engages with the marginalised; foregrounds genocide’s untold stories; and uses the conceptual framework of the constellation of genocide narratives to create connections among multiple social actors and identify narrative themes that address the unequal power and interdependence of narratives.



    Adopting a multi-level narrative methodology that addresses the value of multiple narrative framings for understanding genocides, The Marginalised in Genocide Narratives will appeal to students and researchers interested in sociology, conflict and peace studies, history, African studies and narrative research. It may also appeal to policy-makers interested in genocide studies and contemporary social history.

    LIST OF FIGURES



    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS



    LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS





    Chapter 1 Introduction: narrating genocide and the genocide narrative

    Introduction



    Narrating genocides: victims, perpetrators and the marginalised others



    The formation of the genocide master–narrative



    The constellation of genocide narratives



    The Rwandan genocide and Rwanda Studies



    Situating narratives methodologically



    Conclusion



    Chapter 2 The formation of the foundational genocide master-narrative



    Introduction



    The formation of the master-narrative of the Genocide against the Tutsi



    The genocide as the foundational master-narrative



    The counter master-narrative of war



    The marginalised voices



    Conclusion



    Chapter 3 Reframing culpability, shame and guilt: non-perpetrator members of the perpetrator group



    Introduction



    Naming culpability, shame and guilt: non-perpetrator members of the perpetrator group



    Revisiting moral culpability through ordinary morality



    The narrative of national unity and reconciliation: everyday relations and values



    Conclusion



    Chapter 4 Revisiting the figure of the heroic rescuer: communal rescue, care and resistance



    Introduction



    Naming the public figure of the rescuer: individual, exceptional, heroic



    From exceptional heroes to communities of care



    The communal rescue narrative: care and resistance



    The ambivalent legacy of rescuing



    Revisiting the figure of the heroic saviour



    Conclusion



    Chapter 5 Families of mixed ethnic backgrounds: the intimate burden of those caught in-between the politics of ethnic identity



    Introduction



    The erasure of the 'mixed' constituent in public narratives



    Rethinking the proxy categories of rescapé, génocidaire and orphelin du génocide



    Caught in-between: narrating the intimate burden of 'mixed' belonging



    The narrative legacy of the genocide



    Articulating and reclaiming the 'mixed'



    Conclusion



    Chapter 6 Marginalisation and survival of the other minority group



    Introduction



    Naming the outside onlooker: the Twa



    Questioning the onlooker narrative: the insider and the struggle for survival



    Post-genocide narratives: from autochthones to historically marginalised



    Decentering the genocide narrative: national progress, vulnerability and material survival



    Conclusion



    Chapter 7 Civilian returnees: intra-ethnic differences and continuities with the past and exile



    Introduction



    The Hamitic narrative: histories of mobility and belonging



    The hegemony of the RPF-led national narrative and the diverse stories of the civilian returnees



    Revisiting the narrative of the 'new' Rwanda: continuities with the past and exile



    Conclusion



    Chapter 8 The revised constellation of genocide narratives and the untold social history of genocides



    Introduction



    The marginalised voices in the revised constellation of genocide narratives



    Narrative engagement: agency and dialogical strategies



    Rewriting the social history of the genocide that took place in Rwanda



    Expanding and applying the constellation of genocide narratives


    Biography

    Giorgia Donà is Co-director of the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging at the University of East London, UK.