Journal

Forensic civism: articulating science, DNA and kinship in contemporary Mexico and Colombia

Human Remains and Violence, Volume 2, No. 1 (2016), pp. 58-74
Author
Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Arely Cruz-Santiago
Publication Year
2016
Region
The Americas
Thematic Area
Families / Forensics / The Search Process
Topic
Burial Site / Mass Grave / Identification / Memorialization / Recovery of remains / Excavation / Exhumation / Right to Know/Truth
Access
Open access

The article will present the findings of ethnographic research into the Colombian and Mexican forensic systems, introducing the first citizen-led exhumation project made possible through the cooperation of scholars, forensic specialists and interested citizens in Mexico. The coupling evolution and mutual re-constitution of forensic science will be explored, including new forms of citizenship and nation building projects – all approached as lived experience – in two of Latin America‘s most complex contexts: organised crime and mass death.