Remembering without confronting : memorialization as a reparation without coming to terms with the past. Case study: Ulucanlar Prison Museum

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to analyse Ulucanlar Prison Museum, as an example of the memorial museum genre, and as a memorialisation attempt of an era which was marked with a confrontation discourse in Turkey. The data collected from the interviews conducted with the exprisoners and museum visitors as well as the semiological reading of the museum have been analysed with multi-modal ethnography in the light of the historical-political context of Turkey, collective memory theory and transitional justice theory with the aim of revealing the politics surrounding the museum; its contribution to individual healing and recognition as a symbolic reparation; promotion of human rights and raising awareness of their violations; and transmitting the heritage of the past with the message never again. Keywords: Collective memory, human rights, memorialisation, confrontation