Description:
The Ghost in the Constitution offers a reflection on the political use of the concept of historical memory foregrounding the case of
Spain. The book analyses the philosophical implications of the transference of the notion of memory from the individual consciousness to the collective subject and considers the conflation of epistemology with ethics. A subtheme is the origins and transmission of political violence, and its endurance in the form of symbolic violence and "negationism" in the post-Franco era. Some chapters treat of specific "traumatic" phenomena such as the bombing of Guernica and the Holocaust.
Review Quotes:
'There is ample thought-provoking material and some stimulating insight in The Ghost in the Constitution, resulting from extensive research presented in polished writing.'
José Colmeiro, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies