The following text presents a state of the art of the field known in Ibero-America as “pedagogies of memory”, with the aim of highlighting some of the pedagogical and educational features involved in the work on social memory, drawing attention to the risks of abuse of the past and questioning the idea that memory is in itself liberating. The article is based on an analysis of academic publications produced in Ibero-American countries that have suffered violent and traumatic events in their recent past, such as Spain, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil, among others. The results reveal interesting contributions in relation to the pedagogical perspectives and educational aims of the pedagogies of memory in the context analysed. Regarding pedagogical perspectives, critical pedagogy, social constructivism and an approach to the philosophy of education known as anamnetic narrative stand out. The educational aims include the teaching of recent history as a condition for learning about events that must not be repeated, citizenship training in human rights, and the formation of political subjectivities based on the principle of alterity. It is concluded that, despite the wealth of experiences in the works analysed, the field of pedagogies of memory is still developing and there are many precautions that we need to take in order to make use of the past for educational and emancipatory purposes.