Searching for Memory

This biography of Brazilian journalist and activist Aluízio Palmar tells the remarkable story of a revolutionary who, after surviving torture as a political prisoner during his country's military dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, would devote the second half of his life to investigating human rights abuses. With an eye to the intricacies of how Palmar has narrated his life across interviews, writings, and public engagement, Jacob Blanc offers an innovative window into how former activists view their place in history.

Speaker: Jake Blanc is an associate professor of history and international development studies at McGill University. He is also the author of Before the Flood: the Itaipu Dam and the Visibility of Rural Brazil (Duke, 2019) and The Prestes Column: an Interior History of Modern Brazil (Duke, 2024). With Frederico Freitas, he has co-edited two volumes, including the recently published The Interior: Rethinking Brazilian History from the Inside (University of Texas Press). His new project is a global history of the phrase "never again."