Most unitary and essentialist national myths have been disenchanted after the two world wars and the period of national socialism in Germany. Especially for todays »postnational constellation« (Habermas) of globalization the concept of the nation as a source of social coherence seems outworn. At the same time, a variety of public and civil society actors try to reinforce a new and universal »Monomythos« (Marquard).These attempts of a mythical reinstallation in postmodern society and media raise the following questions: What is the distinct difference between the contemporary myths and the ones of the early modern period? Who are the initiators of these national myths? On which ideologies and convictions are they based? What are the instruments and resources used in the struggle for constructing national history? And finally, who are the opponents to these efforts and how do they oppose?These questions have been discussed at the international conference »Reconstructions of national myths? France, Germany and the Ukraine in comparison«, hold by the chair of political theory and the history of political thought of the University of Rostock at 8 October, 2011. This transcript publishes the conference contributions plus two additional articles analyzing the contemporary politics of memorization from a perspective of European cultural anthropology. A concluding essay by the editor completes the conference transcript.
About the author
Irene Götz ist seit 2007 Professorin am Institut für Volkskunde/Europäische Ethnologie der Universität München.
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