Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

2-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Psychology

Advisor

Michelle Fine

Subject Categories

Peace and Conflict Studies | Psychology | Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies

Keywords

Digital Archive, March, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Testimomies, Transnational

Abstract

This dissertation studies the Memoscopio archive and its collection of testimonies about the 2009 World March for Peace and Nonviolence (the March). This collection came into existence during 2009 and 2010 through a participatory archiving project carried out by a team of peace advocates and researchers in collaboration with March participants. The March was a transnational and decentralized campaign that promoted peace, nonviolence, and justice through activities in 600 cities, social media, and a three-month march around the world. Through the case of Memoscopio and the March, this dissertation explores the personal and cultural meanings of transnational peace marchers in a globalized and digital world. In addition, it analyzes the transformatory uses of testimonies, and the ways in which March participants rejected normalized violence and injustice through accounts that release their memories and imaginations about themselves, peace marches, and peacebuilding. The analysis suggests that the psychological dimensions of peace marches, which remain under-studied, go well beyond the collective locomotion of people who oppose war. In this sense, transnational peace marches can be productive sites for research on the evolving meanings of protest and peacebuilding in the 21st century. Methodologically, the dissertation explores, and reflects on, participatory archiving as an approach to producing critical, relevant, and collectively owned knowledge.

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