Scholarlink

<p>Family historical memories of a&#xa0;controverted past can shape descendants over several generations. This study examines how descendants of Belgian former colonials remember their family past and respond to public evaluations of colonialism by exploring the dynamics between stigma and shame within mediated representations of The Congo. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 20&#xa0;participants from eight French-speaking Belgian families with colonial ties to Congo, the study adopts a&#xa0;qualitative, case-oriented and abductive approach. The analysis focuses on how participants describe their family history, position themselves as descendants of colonials, and articulate feelings of being judged, implicated or ashamed. Particular attention is paid to encounters between private family narratives and public debates about Belgium’s colonial past. The findings are presented as four configurations of stigma and shame: stigma with shame, stigma without shame, shame without stigma and neither stigma nor shame. These configurations illuminate how descendants navigate tensions between personal family memories, growing public condemnation of colonialism and their own moral evaluations. The study shows that family historical memories are transmitted and received in a&#xa0;highly charged moral context, where media representations and political debates shape how descendants interpret their family past. It contributes to research on intergenerational memory, stigma and moral emotions by highlighting the ambivalent, situated and often conflictual ways in which people related to colonial families position themselves in relation to a&#xa0;violent past.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Between family memories and public stigma: shame and intergenerational transmission in mediated colonial memory

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月8日

查看全文
  • Aline Cordonnier

摘要

Family historical memories of a controverted past can shape descendants over several generations. This study examines how descendants of Belgian former colonials remember their family past and respond to public evaluations of colonialism by exploring the dynamics between stigma and shame within mediated representations of The Congo. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 20 participants from eight French-speaking Belgian families with colonial ties to Congo, the study adopts a qualitative, case-oriented and abductive approach. The analysis focuses on how participants describe their family history, position themselves as descendants of colonials, and articulate feelings of being judged, implicated or ashamed. Particular attention is paid to encounters between private family narratives and public debates about Belgium’s colonial past. The findings are presented as four configurations of stigma and shame: stigma with shame, stigma without shame, shame without stigma and neither stigma nor shame. These configurations illuminate how descendants navigate tensions between personal family memories, growing public condemnation of colonialism and their own moral evaluations. The study shows that family historical memories are transmitted and received in a highly charged moral context, where media representations and political debates shape how descendants interpret their family past. It contributes to research on intergenerational memory, stigma and moral emotions by highlighting the ambivalent, situated and often conflictual ways in which people related to colonial families position themselves in relation to a violent past.