Nationalizing the Past

Although professional historians traditionally have claimed to be 'myth-breakers', national history from the 19th century onwards shows that they have quite a record in 'myth-making'. This tension between myth-making and breaking actually is still with us today. Now for the first time in paperback, [...]
Visa längre beskrivning

Although professional historians traditionally have claimed to be 'myth-breakers', national history from the 19th century onwards shows that they have quite a record in 'myth-making'. This tension between myth-making and breaking actually is still with us today. Now for the first time in paperback, this volume analyzes in a truly comparative and transnational manner how some of the most important national historians in Europe have handled the opposing pulls of fact and fiction and which narrative strategies have contributed to the success of national histories. Which role did the narrative framing of beginnings, middles and endings of national histories play? How were continuities and discontinuities constructed? How did the discourse of 'the nation' integrate narratives of ethnicity, race, class, religion and gender? This volume also shows how 20th century dictatorships have influenced the ways in which the past has been 'nationalized' by historians and asks whether national history as a genre still has a future in the 21st century.