Public Lecture: Documentation as historical witnesses: From landscapes of violence to landscapes of memory.

Posted on: 16 April 2018 by Nick Jones in 2018 Posts

Savina Sirik will discuss her experiences documenting the Khmer Rouge history and reflect on the role Documentation Centre Cambodia’s work has played in constructing narratives of this period and how it contributes to the production of memory in post-genocide Cambodia.

The Critical Approaches to International Criminal Law Research Cluster and Transforming Conflict research theme are co-hosting a public lecture with Savina Sirik, a doctoral student in Peace and Development Research at the University of Gothenburg.

The lecture will be take place Friday 27th April, 3:00pm in the Rendall Building, Lecture Theatre 1.

Savina will be delivering her speech Documentation as historical witnesses: From landscapes of violence to landscapes of memory. 

Documentation of human rights violations is important to preserving difficult histories. This is especially true within the context of Cambodia, particularly in relation to the country’s Democratic Kampuchea period under the reign of the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). Understanding what happened during this time is critical both to both Cambodia’s ongoing rebuilding efforts and to facilitating processes of reconciliation.  

In her lecture, Savina Sirik, who has worked at the Documentation Centre Cambodia (DC-Cam) in a variety of capacities since 2004, will discuss her experiences documenting the Khmer Rouge history and reflect on the role DC-Cam’s work has played in constructing narratives of this history and how it contributes to the production of memory in post-genocide Cambodia. 

The event is free and there is no need to register. A drinks reception will follow the talk. 

Savina Sirik has conducted extensive fieldwork throughout Cambodia, working to document the experiences of survivors of Cambodia’s Democratic Kampuchea period. She has also served as Director of the Centre’s planned Museum of Memory, and is the author of the monograph Everyday Experiences of Genocide Survivors in Landscapes of Violence in Cambodia (DC-Cam, 2016).

Savina is a doctoral candidate in Peace and Development Research at the University of Gothenburg School of Global Studies, holds an M.A. in Peace and Reconciliation Studies from Coventry University, UK, and an M.A. in Geography from Kent State University, USA.