Weaving a New Imaginary: The Politics of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights on the 50th Anniversary of the Chilean Military Coup D’etat

Abstract

This essay analyzes the evolution and role of Chile’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights (MMDH) in the debates regarding the politics of memory and in
pedagogy, in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Chilean military coup d’etat. It also explores the MMDH in comparative perspective, using the cases of the Ex-Navy Mechanics School of Argentina and the Legacy Museum of the United States. The essay suggests that the moment has arrived to expand the MMDH’s basic narrative, both in terms of its temporal frame and chronology, and its conceptualization of human rights, to include social and cultural rights.