ABSTRACT
Human rights testimonies, shaped and packaged into narratives of witness, educate and bind readers to the degree that they convince them of two things: that the story is the “real” story of a “real” survivor – that is, narrative joined to an embodied person; and that the reading experience constitutes a cross-cultural encounter positioning readers as ethical subjects within the global imaginary of human rights advocacy. But in this high-stakes, high-demand convergence of witnessing, reading, and rights activism, the compelling affect of testimonial life writing can become a magnet for suspicious reading and allegations of hoaxing.
