Memorialization and armed conflict: the construction of narratives for peace in Colombia

We propose a theoretical-methodological reflection and application of multimodal and multimedia critical discourse analysis (ECDMM), in the investigation of collective memories and the memorialization processes that are explored in the SPEME project in Colombia. In this reflection, collective memories are multiple discursive practices, in which social representations about a common past are used to build and maintain cohesion and identity of socio-historically situated groups in a present moment and to project future regarding rights, dignity, respect and sense of well-being. The social representations around history often describe the contents of the collective memory as if they were homogeneous and unique, formalizing a version that does not take into account, especially, the most marginalized sectors of society. This dissertation focuses on the representations that are formulated in a digital communication medium and their way of distributing the sense of collective memories. From the perspective of the theoretical principles of the ECDMM, we base the research on the principle that the media and their technological supports elaborate modes, genres and representations that communicate and create conceptions of the past. An adequate framework is elaborated for the approach of a corpus constituted by media narratives for the construction of peace in Colombia, in the special editions of the newspaper El Tiempo.com. For the analysis, we study the storytelling that the media produces as a route for the reconstruction of the social fabric.