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Cited by 30Spanish Culture and IdentityMemory, violence, and historySpanish History and Politics

Exhuming Dead Persons: Forensic Science and the Making of Post-fascist Publics in Spain

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Rubin, Jonah S.·2020·Cultural Anthropology
DOI 10.14506/ca35.3.01
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Abstract

Four decades after the fall of its dictator, Spain still refuses to undertake its legal and moral responsibilities to locate the disappeared. This essay examines how Spanish activists use forensic exhumations to transform the political status of Franco's victims. Departing from popular and scholarly depictions of forensic science, I show that, in post-fascist Spain, the impact of exhumations has little to do with their ability to extract historical information directly from the bones of the exhumed. Instead, I argue that exhumations transform the disappeared into dead persons, thereby reincorporating them as integral participants in a democratic public sphere. For memory activists, the project of securing Spain's democratic future depends on recognizing the personhood of long-excluded victims of fascist violence. Absent any official legal framework, I show how Spanish activists train laypersons to recognize the inherent dignity of the dead and see them as potential participants in an alternative democratic public.

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Authors
Rubin, J. S.
Affiliations
Knox College (US)
Corresponding author
Rubin, Jonah S.
ORCID
Rubin, Jonah S.
Venue
Cultural Anthropology
Publisher
American Anthropological Association
Published
2020-08-03
Volume
35
Issue
3
ISSN
  • 0886-7356 (ISSN-L)
  • 1548-1360
DOI
10.14506/ca35.3.01
OpenAlex
W3049059797
Cited by
30
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2
FWCI
7.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
Cultural Anthropology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Spanish Culture and Identity
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Memory, violence, and history
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Spanish History and Politics
Keywords
disappeared persons, Francoism, memory activism, post-fascism, public sphere, personhood, dignity of the dead, Spain, democratic transition

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