The dissertation project discusses memories about Marielle Franco (1979-2018) as "dangerous memories".

Marielle Franco was a black, lesbian/bisexual woman from a favela, human rights activist, and city councilor of Rio de Janeiro. She was murdered on 14 March 2018. Her assassination has sparked great outrage and protests. Today, “Marielle” has become a symbol of the worldwide struggle for human, women, and minorities' rights.

Methodologically, the project builds on Johann Baptist Metz's "memoria passionis"-thesis. In the first part of the project, this thesis will be developed as a hermeneutic perspective and adapted for the urban context of Rio de Janeiro. In the second part of the project, there will be an analysis of oral history interviews with former employees of Marielle. With the help of Metz, these interviews will be discussed as "dangerous memories" that cast a critical light on the present.

The project’s central thesis is that Marielle's story conveyed hope to others already during her lifetime. This hope wasn’t destroyed by her murder but transformed and lives on today in many new "Marielles".

The dissertation project critically contributes to Brazilian and international contemporary history by reappraising Marielle Franco's biography from the perspective of the people who worked together with her and by showing what meaning was and is associated with it.