Aidyn Mills

Socio-Cultural

Regional focus: Spain, Cuba

Topical interests: Citizenship, nationalism, memory production, return migration, diaspora and exile.

My research interrogates the relationship between the memories and histories produced and the state bureaucracies in which they are produced. I specifically compare the production of memory in socialist Cuba and in democratic Spain, as thousands of Cubans seek Spanish citizenship by virtue of the Law of Historical Memory passed in 2007 in Spain. Based on a democratic effort to "recover" the past, Spain has sought to recognize and redress the injustices of the 20th century, including returning citizenship to descendants of Spanish exiles of the Civil War and Franco dictatorship. I consider how both Cuban and Spanish memories of controversial events of the past intersect, collide, overlap or are transformed, as Cuban nationals engage in a process of becoming Spanish citizens, and as Spanish citizens seek to incorporate new members and memory-holders into their nation and national narratives.

I received my B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in Spanish and Latin American Studies in 2002.