Historiographic Reflection and Formation of National Identity

Abstract

A turn of modern science towards the study of historical memory gives rise to questions about the role of historical science in the formation of collective, in particular, national identity. The experience of a historiographic reflection on these problems is presented in a collective monograph “The Past for the Present: History, Memory and Narratives of National Identity” written by the laboratory “Studies of Historical Memory and Intellectual Culture” of the Center for Intellectual History Studies of the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, headed by L. P. Repina. The authors of the collective monograph examine the processes of national identity and historical memory formation in several countries (Russia, Britain, Germany, Poland, and Bolivia) in a “longue durée” perspective, in the context of global trends. They focus on the role that national narratives created by professional historians played in the construction of “historical myths” — mythologized ideas about the “origins” of national history that represent the constitutive elements of national identity. The authors raise the problem of the competition of different identities and memories, and consider the issue of the audience of a national narrative. They highlight the ambiguity of the social role of historical science: on the one hand, historians are actively involved in the formation of the national identity and historical memory; on the other hand, scientific knowledge provides them with tools for a critical analysis of historical myths and well-reasoned reflection on the projects of collective identity. The study represents a successful attempt of combining the “memorial paradigm” and “new sociocultural history” with the history of nationalism and nation-building.