Moon, Claire (2013) Interpreters of the dead: forensic knowledge, human remains and the politics of the past. Social and Legal Studies, 22 (2). pp. 149-169. ISSN 0964-6639
Abstract
Forensic anthropology makes particular professional claims - scientific, probative, humanitarian, historical, political and deterrent - which attempt to finalise interpretations of the past. However, I argue that these claims conceal a range of contests and conflicts around the social, political, legal and scientific significance of human remains. I look at the ways in which forensic work is embedded within a network of artefacts, actors and institutions that have different stakes in the interpretation of the past. I analyse conflicts over human remains by positing them as 'boundary objects' with agency, in which a number of communities are invested and show how forensic knowledge does not finalise, but interacts with social, political and historical interpretations of past violence in ways that are both conflicted and unpredictable.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://sls.sagepub.com/ |
| Additional Information: | © 2013 The Author |
| Library of Congress subject classification: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology |
| Sets: | Departments > Sociology Research centres and groups > Centre for the Study of Human Rights |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Jun 2013 13:32 |
| URL: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/50918/ |
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