Untold Stories

""In Spain, the tapestry of national, familial, and individual memories was torn asunder by the Spanish Civil War. In David Divita's touching ethnography of memory, Spanish migrants, who have been living in France for decades, come together to mend this rift in the life stories they share at the Centro, a centre for Spanish seniors on the outskirts of Paris. Within the pages of this essential and captivating book, Divita not only meticulously chronicles their lives but also creates the conditions for their voices to be heard with care and respect.""--Luisa Martín Rojo, Professor of Linguistics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid ""This is a masterful account of how a diasporic group has built a mnemonic community around untold stories of the Spanish Civil War. Divita's focus on discursive forms, along with content, are key to his compelling and creative insights about how Spain's past resonates in living memory and allows untold stories to continue speaking.""--James V. Wertsch, David R. Francis Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis ""Untold Stories is not only about the narratives of people who were subjected to marginalization and repression and those who cannot tell, but also about those narrators who have been ignored in historical recounts. In this fascinating ethnography David Divita brings together insights from anthropology, migration studies, and discourse analysis to give voice to migrant labourers from the Spanish diaspora in France. He shows how their sense of self has been shaped by the social conditions in which they grew and how they make sense of their past and present through storytelling, art, and performance.""--Anna De Fina, Professor of Italian Language and Linguistics, Georgetown University