In the early hours of March 24, 1976, the streets of Buenos Aires rumble with tanks as soldiers seize the presidential palace and topple Argentina’s leader. The country is now under the control of a military junta, with army chief Jorge Rafael Videla at the helm. With quiet support from the United States and tacit approval from much of Argentina’s people, who are tired of constant bombings and gunfights, the junta swiftly launches the National Reorganization Process or El Proceso—a bland name masking their ruthless campaign to crush the political left and instill the country with “Western, Christian” values. The junta holds power until 1983 and decimates a generation. One of the military’s most diabolical acts is kidnapping hundreds of pregnant women. After giving birth in captivity, the women are “disappeared,” and their babies secretly given to other families—many of them headed by police or military officers. For mothers of pregnant daughters and daughters-in-law, the source of their grief is twofold—the disappearances of their children, and the theft of their grandchildren. A group of fierce grandmothers forms the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, dedicated to finding the stolen infants and seeking justice from a nation that betrayed them. At a time when speaking out could mean death, the Abuelas confront military officers and launch protests to reach international diplomats and journalists. They become detectives, adopting disguises to observe suspected grandchildren, and even work alongside a renowned American scientist to pioneer groundbreaking genetic tests.
About Dr. Christopher Gunn
Christopher Gunn is a historian of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans whose work centers on Cold War geopolitics and the intersections of political violence, state security, and forced migration. A dual US-EU citizen with extensive archival experience across the region, he has published widely on insurgent movements, intelligence operations, and U.S. foreign policy. His current research examines how Western intelligence services, including the CIA, recruited and managed refugees from communist states. Gunn is Professor of History and Assistant Dean in the Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts at Coastal Carolina University.
About Dr. Claudia Bornholdt
The Edwards College welcomed Claudia Bornholdt as its new dean on July 1, 2019. Bornholdt came to CCU from the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C. Bornholdt received her Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures, Medieval Studies, and Historical Linguistics from Indiana University-Bloomington and has held a progressive series of positions at CUA since 2007, including acting dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, chair of the Department of Modern Languages, and Endowed Walburg Chair of German Language and Literature. Bornholdt’s research focuses on medieval German and Scandinavian as well as French and Latin literature. She is particularly interested in the early days of vernacular writing and the transfer of literary texts, motifs, patterns, and genres across languages and cultural boundaries. Among other qualities, Bornholdt brings an international perspective to CCU. Born in northern Germany, just north of Hamburg, she completed her undergraduate studies at Christian-Albrechts Universität in Kiel, Germany. Her family ties span Norway, Germany, and the United States, and on a recent sabbatical, she and her husband, Brian Pilke, traveled to Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Germany, and Norway. During that time, Bornholdt wrote three scholarly articles on three different continents. When Bornholdt arrived on the CCU campus for the first time in January 2019, she was struck by the comfortable and familiar nature of the people she met. “I noticed the sense of community that’s clearly here,” Bornholdt said. “I had the feeling people work together; people know each other really well. They talk to one another, and they were very welcoming – that was very important.” During her tenure at CUA, Bornholdt worked to bring unity to programs and departments that viewed themselves as disparate, and she hopes to build on the connections that already exist at CCU as well as create new ones. She plans to focus on interdisciplinary programs, diversity among students and faculty, and connections between CCU and the surrounding community.