The 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian Government and the The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) formally ended a conflict that has extended for nearly 60 years. More than 13,000 FARC ex-combatants demobilized to more than 24 settlement camps across the country. Michael Soto conducted fieldwork primarily in the state of Meta, covering two formal settlement camps (Mesetas and Vista Hermosa) and two cities (Villavicencio and also the country’s capital Bogotá). Soto interviewed both ex-combatants and the individuals they are interacting with following the Peace Agreement, asking about their biography, cross-group interactions, and national historic events. Soto builds upon Maurice Halbwachs’s presentist approach to collective memory which focuses on groups, by engaging with scholarship on social networks, and also draws on cultural sociology, examining the meanings that individuals attribute to their relationships.

Kaltura

About the Speaker

Michael Soto is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Minnesota and a fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center for Global Change (ICGC).

Interdisciplinary Research Colloquium

The Interdisciplinary Research Colloquium series offers informal lectures and discussions on current research projects by ICGC Scholars, affiliated faculty, visiting scholars, and practitioners. These events are open to the public. Guests are welcome to bring their lunches and eat during the sessions.