Panel on Baltasar Garzón - M/MLA, St. Louis - Deadline: June 3, 2011

full name / name of organization: 
Dr. Kathy Korcheck / Central College
contact email: 

Baltasar Garzón: International Justice on Trial

This panel explores the figure of Judge Baltasar Garzón as a metaphor for post-dictatorial justice in Spain and Latin America. Seen alternately as an advocate for human rights or as a celebrity "activist judge," many argue Garzón has displaced the cause of the very victims he purports to defend. From his orchestration of the Pinochet arrest to his failed attempt to investigate Francoist-era crimes, Garzón remains at the center of an ideological battle over the narrative reconstruction of the dictatorial past. This panel examines Garzón's portrayal by self or others in journalism, film or new media, especially with regard to the construction of a transnational memory culture and the practice of citizenship in democratic societies. Papers welcome in English or Spanish.

Please submit 250-word abstracts as email attachments to Kathy Korcheck, korcheckk@central.edu by June 3, 2011.

Please note: this is a Special Session of the Midwest MLA. All presenters must pay their membership dues and registration fee by June 27th. For more information on the M/MLA and the conference in St. Louis, please see: http://www.luc.edu/mmla/index.html