Yifat Gutman | Ben Gurion University of the Negev (original) (raw)
Papers by Yifat Gutman
Routledge eBooks, May 9, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Nov 1, 2018
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 35, Jan 16, 2023
The Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism
International Political Sociology
The role of violent histories and their legacies in reconciliation processes has been a central q... more The role of violent histories and their legacies in reconciliation processes has been a central question in debates on reconciliation and nation building after conflict: whether, how, and when painful events should be remembered in post-conflict and post-transition societies. A dominant approach to this question since the 1980s has been the “reconciliation paradigm,” which views addressing violent histories as condition for reconciliation. A comparative study of the implementation in practice of this global paradigm by civil society–based memory activists in Poland and Israel–Palestine raises questions about its applicability. The findings point to two weaknesses: first, mistreatment of asymmetrical violence and power relations between the conflict sides and, second, the lack of systematic consideration of how reconciliation is perceived by local actors in practice. In light of these weaknesses, local memory activists developed alternative strategies to those of the reconciliation p...
Memory Laws and Historical Justice, 2022
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 2018
twentieth century or the more contemporary postcolonial theorists in the humanities. The discussi... more twentieth century or the more contemporary postcolonial theorists in the humanities. The discussion of the rootedness of social theory in empire and the problems it generates is compelling and should move all sociologists to revise their understanding of the discipline. And the proposals that Julian Go puts forward—relationality, a subaltern standpoint, and perspectival realism—are well articulated and defended. The argument has its tensions, though. If scholars such as Bourdieu and Latour already practiced relational analysis, why do we need a postcolonial sociology? The answer is, I believe, that they don’t adopt a subaltern standpoint. Relational analysis alone, without a subaltern standpoint, does not address the postcolonial critique. A postcolonial relational analysis is not only about reconnecting relations, but reconnecting particular kinds of relations that become observable only when one looks from a subaltern standpoint: in other words, making empire visible. But the call for a plurality of perspectives weakens the argument for the need for a subaltern standpoint. Go, I believe, is attempting to appeal to a wide audience by pointing to the common elements between postcolonial sociology and social theory. This is commendable because it is important for the discipline to engage in the dialogue that the book proposes. But, at the same time, this move blurs the extent of the epistemological break involved in postcolonial sociology, which is rooted in the rejection of metrocentrism and analytical bifurcation. Furthermore, I believe that linking the new postcolonial sociology in a stronger way to the first wave of postcolonial theorists would have made the book’s argument more compelling. To be sure, Go does an excellent job analyzing the work and acknowledging the importance of the first wave. But he bases his argument for relational analysis mainly on the work of second-wave postcolonial thinkers in the humanities. This makes sense, given the emphasis he puts on the critique of the imperial episteme. Yet, relying more on the work of first-wave postcolonial theorists, particularly W. E. B. Du Bois, would have strengthened the links of the new postcolonial sociology to sociology’s past, and it would have pointed to the presence of a subaltern standpoint at the origin of sociology. Nevertheless, it is important to remark that the book’s case for the relevance of the second wave of postcolonial thinkers is well made and convincing. Go’s accomplishment is path-breaking. This is an ambitious book that achieves a synthesis between two traditions of social thought that usually talk past or against each other. Postcolonial Thought and Social Theory makes a compelling case for a new postcolonial sociology and for its potential to launch a disciplinary renewal. For that, the book deserves unreserved praise and recognition. Sociology and social theory will undoubtedly benefit from a broad and indepth conversation about this book.
Edited by Yifat Gutman, Adam D. Brown, and Amy Sodaro
Memory Studies, 2009
Spring 2006, when the rebuilding of Ground Zero began, was a unique moment in time — a turning po... more Spring 2006, when the rebuilding of Ground Zero began, was a unique moment in time — a turning point for the New York site and its publics. It signified transformation from debris to a memorial museum; a move from past catastrophe to future memories, as the nationalized narration of the events in the formal exhibit on site emphasized. Surprisingly, while the end result was already known, this moment of transformation allowed different audiences to put at halt the nationalized interpretation of the events of 9/11 and engage in personal, collected and collective, local and global, perspectives on the past, while enacting the presents and futures which seem to unfold from them. This article examines these distinct yet connected moments in order to reveal the different connections that people and governments make between pasts, presents and futures. It uses a non-linear approach to time, which explores and reworks the tension between linearity and relativity, as a sensitive lens to a po...
Law & Society Review, 2016
The article addresses the tension between nation-state memory and the law through "memory laws." ... more The article addresses the tension between nation-state memory and the law through "memory laws." In contrast to laws that ban genocide denial or a positive perception of a violent past, I focus on laws that ban a negative perception of a violent past. As I will show, these laws were utilized for a nondemocratic purpose in the last decade or more: They were proposed in order to limit public debate on the national past by banning oppositional or minority views, in contrast to the principles of free speech and deliberative democracy. Their legislation in such cases also stands in opposition to truth-telling efforts in the international arena. I compare two cases of memory legislation, in contemporary Russia and Israel, and evaluate their different impacts on democratic public debates in practice. A third case of "failed legislation" in France compliments the analysis by demonstrating not only the capacity but also the limitation of state power to silence or control public debate using the law. Although national laws often reflect majority culture and memory, I propose that memory laws in Russia, Israel, and France present an escalating degree of minority exclusion-from omission to active banning. The last decade and a half has seen heated public debates and controversies around a new type of national laws, popularly known as "memory laws." Broadly considered, different types of national laws address the historical record or the shared perception of the past; for example, for example, hate speech laws, laws that establish the social calendar of memorial-days, and laws that create institutions that house the historical record and collective memory, such as national museums and archives
Understanding the processes by which individuals and groups remember or forget the past has been ... more Understanding the processes by which individuals and groups remember or forget the past has been a concern for centuries. However, over the past three decades, the study of memory has become an increasingly popular topic for scholarly inquiry. This surge in memory research has greatly contributed to the way in which we consider a broad range of issues from the most basic biological and cellular encoding and retrieval systems to the ways in which political and cultural systems facilitate the remembering or silencing of historical events. As a result, the concept of "memory" is now studied and taught across a wide range of academic disciplines from the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. In addition, the past three decades have witnessed an increase in the number of texts, scholarly journals, conferences, students, and practitioners interested in the understanding and function of memory. Of particular interest are burgeoning attempts among memory schol...
Memory Studies
Memory activists have recently received more scholarly and public attention, but the concept lack... more Memory activists have recently received more scholarly and public attention, but the concept lacks conceptual clarity. In this article, we articulate an analytical framework for studying memory activists, proposing a relatively narrow definition: “Memory activists” strategically commemorate the past to challenge (or protect) dominant views on the past and the institutions that represent them. Their goal is mnemonic change or to resist change. We locate scholarship on memory activists at the intersection of memory studies and social movement studies. We introduce a typology for comparative analysis of memory activism according to activist roles, temporality, and modes of interaction with other actors in memory politics, and illustrate this with a diverse set of empirical examples. We contend that the analytical utility of the concept of the “memory activist” is premised on its value-neutrality, and in particular, its application to both pro and anti-democratic cases of activism.
Law & Social Inquiry
This article examines memory laws as a new form of social control, demonstrating the significance... more This article examines memory laws as a new form of social control, demonstrating the significance of cultural memory to law and society scholarship. It focuses on two Israeli laws that seek to control public debate by giving voice to one marginalized group in order to silence another. The article presents two forms of such utilization of the law: forced forgetting and the balancing of atrocities. Forced forgetting validates the memory of one group of people over another group. Balancing atrocities equates victims, pitting the suffering of one group against that of another for the purpose of dismissing the former’s claims for recognition and redress. The 2011 Nakba Law, an example of forced forgetting, dismisses the Palestinian minority’s experience to amplify the memory of the Jewish majority, while the 2014 Jewish Nakba Law creates an analogy between Palestinian redress claims and those of the Mizrahi Jews in order to balance the atrocities that these groups suffered. We show that ...
Routledge eBooks, May 9, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Nov 1, 2018
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 35, Jan 16, 2023
The Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism
International Political Sociology
The role of violent histories and their legacies in reconciliation processes has been a central q... more The role of violent histories and their legacies in reconciliation processes has been a central question in debates on reconciliation and nation building after conflict: whether, how, and when painful events should be remembered in post-conflict and post-transition societies. A dominant approach to this question since the 1980s has been the “reconciliation paradigm,” which views addressing violent histories as condition for reconciliation. A comparative study of the implementation in practice of this global paradigm by civil society–based memory activists in Poland and Israel–Palestine raises questions about its applicability. The findings point to two weaknesses: first, mistreatment of asymmetrical violence and power relations between the conflict sides and, second, the lack of systematic consideration of how reconciliation is perceived by local actors in practice. In light of these weaknesses, local memory activists developed alternative strategies to those of the reconciliation p...
Memory Laws and Historical Justice, 2022
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 2018
twentieth century or the more contemporary postcolonial theorists in the humanities. The discussi... more twentieth century or the more contemporary postcolonial theorists in the humanities. The discussion of the rootedness of social theory in empire and the problems it generates is compelling and should move all sociologists to revise their understanding of the discipline. And the proposals that Julian Go puts forward—relationality, a subaltern standpoint, and perspectival realism—are well articulated and defended. The argument has its tensions, though. If scholars such as Bourdieu and Latour already practiced relational analysis, why do we need a postcolonial sociology? The answer is, I believe, that they don’t adopt a subaltern standpoint. Relational analysis alone, without a subaltern standpoint, does not address the postcolonial critique. A postcolonial relational analysis is not only about reconnecting relations, but reconnecting particular kinds of relations that become observable only when one looks from a subaltern standpoint: in other words, making empire visible. But the call for a plurality of perspectives weakens the argument for the need for a subaltern standpoint. Go, I believe, is attempting to appeal to a wide audience by pointing to the common elements between postcolonial sociology and social theory. This is commendable because it is important for the discipline to engage in the dialogue that the book proposes. But, at the same time, this move blurs the extent of the epistemological break involved in postcolonial sociology, which is rooted in the rejection of metrocentrism and analytical bifurcation. Furthermore, I believe that linking the new postcolonial sociology in a stronger way to the first wave of postcolonial theorists would have made the book’s argument more compelling. To be sure, Go does an excellent job analyzing the work and acknowledging the importance of the first wave. But he bases his argument for relational analysis mainly on the work of second-wave postcolonial thinkers in the humanities. This makes sense, given the emphasis he puts on the critique of the imperial episteme. Yet, relying more on the work of first-wave postcolonial theorists, particularly W. E. B. Du Bois, would have strengthened the links of the new postcolonial sociology to sociology’s past, and it would have pointed to the presence of a subaltern standpoint at the origin of sociology. Nevertheless, it is important to remark that the book’s case for the relevance of the second wave of postcolonial thinkers is well made and convincing. Go’s accomplishment is path-breaking. This is an ambitious book that achieves a synthesis between two traditions of social thought that usually talk past or against each other. Postcolonial Thought and Social Theory makes a compelling case for a new postcolonial sociology and for its potential to launch a disciplinary renewal. For that, the book deserves unreserved praise and recognition. Sociology and social theory will undoubtedly benefit from a broad and indepth conversation about this book.
Edited by Yifat Gutman, Adam D. Brown, and Amy Sodaro
Memory Studies, 2009
Spring 2006, when the rebuilding of Ground Zero began, was a unique moment in time — a turning po... more Spring 2006, when the rebuilding of Ground Zero began, was a unique moment in time — a turning point for the New York site and its publics. It signified transformation from debris to a memorial museum; a move from past catastrophe to future memories, as the nationalized narration of the events in the formal exhibit on site emphasized. Surprisingly, while the end result was already known, this moment of transformation allowed different audiences to put at halt the nationalized interpretation of the events of 9/11 and engage in personal, collected and collective, local and global, perspectives on the past, while enacting the presents and futures which seem to unfold from them. This article examines these distinct yet connected moments in order to reveal the different connections that people and governments make between pasts, presents and futures. It uses a non-linear approach to time, which explores and reworks the tension between linearity and relativity, as a sensitive lens to a po...
Law & Society Review, 2016
The article addresses the tension between nation-state memory and the law through "memory laws." ... more The article addresses the tension between nation-state memory and the law through "memory laws." In contrast to laws that ban genocide denial or a positive perception of a violent past, I focus on laws that ban a negative perception of a violent past. As I will show, these laws were utilized for a nondemocratic purpose in the last decade or more: They were proposed in order to limit public debate on the national past by banning oppositional or minority views, in contrast to the principles of free speech and deliberative democracy. Their legislation in such cases also stands in opposition to truth-telling efforts in the international arena. I compare two cases of memory legislation, in contemporary Russia and Israel, and evaluate their different impacts on democratic public debates in practice. A third case of "failed legislation" in France compliments the analysis by demonstrating not only the capacity but also the limitation of state power to silence or control public debate using the law. Although national laws often reflect majority culture and memory, I propose that memory laws in Russia, Israel, and France present an escalating degree of minority exclusion-from omission to active banning. The last decade and a half has seen heated public debates and controversies around a new type of national laws, popularly known as "memory laws." Broadly considered, different types of national laws address the historical record or the shared perception of the past; for example, for example, hate speech laws, laws that establish the social calendar of memorial-days, and laws that create institutions that house the historical record and collective memory, such as national museums and archives
Understanding the processes by which individuals and groups remember or forget the past has been ... more Understanding the processes by which individuals and groups remember or forget the past has been a concern for centuries. However, over the past three decades, the study of memory has become an increasingly popular topic for scholarly inquiry. This surge in memory research has greatly contributed to the way in which we consider a broad range of issues from the most basic biological and cellular encoding and retrieval systems to the ways in which political and cultural systems facilitate the remembering or silencing of historical events. As a result, the concept of "memory" is now studied and taught across a wide range of academic disciplines from the natural and social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. In addition, the past three decades have witnessed an increase in the number of texts, scholarly journals, conferences, students, and practitioners interested in the understanding and function of memory. Of particular interest are burgeoning attempts among memory schol...
Memory Studies
Memory activists have recently received more scholarly and public attention, but the concept lack... more Memory activists have recently received more scholarly and public attention, but the concept lacks conceptual clarity. In this article, we articulate an analytical framework for studying memory activists, proposing a relatively narrow definition: “Memory activists” strategically commemorate the past to challenge (or protect) dominant views on the past and the institutions that represent them. Their goal is mnemonic change or to resist change. We locate scholarship on memory activists at the intersection of memory studies and social movement studies. We introduce a typology for comparative analysis of memory activism according to activist roles, temporality, and modes of interaction with other actors in memory politics, and illustrate this with a diverse set of empirical examples. We contend that the analytical utility of the concept of the “memory activist” is premised on its value-neutrality, and in particular, its application to both pro and anti-democratic cases of activism.
Law & Social Inquiry
This article examines memory laws as a new form of social control, demonstrating the significance... more This article examines memory laws as a new form of social control, demonstrating the significance of cultural memory to law and society scholarship. It focuses on two Israeli laws that seek to control public debate by giving voice to one marginalized group in order to silence another. The article presents two forms of such utilization of the law: forced forgetting and the balancing of atrocities. Forced forgetting validates the memory of one group of people over another group. Balancing atrocities equates victims, pitting the suffering of one group against that of another for the purpose of dismissing the former’s claims for recognition and redress. The 2011 Nakba Law, an example of forced forgetting, dismisses the Palestinian minority’s experience to amplify the memory of the Jewish majority, while the 2014 Jewish Nakba Law creates an analogy between Palestinian redress claims and those of the Mizrahi Jews in order to balance the atrocities that these groups suffered. We show that ...