National History Research Articles

National History, Resistance, and Cultural Enclosure in Iceland’s Bell

Iceland offers a combination of spectacular natural beauty and Viking history that has made it a popular destination for tourists. The island, which has a population of under 350,000, was visited by almost 700,000 tourists in 2021, according to the Icelandic Tourist Board, and tourism accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the country’s total export revenue (OECD). The island’s Viking heritage, recorded in the medieval sagas and eddas, is central to Icelandic cultural and national identity and has played an important role in attracting tourists. However, the history of the saga manuscripts as material cultural artefacts is also tied to Iceland’s history as a Danish colony. They were originally collected and stored in Copenhagen in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and only partly returned to Iceland in 1971, almost two decades after Iceland gained independence from Denmark. The history of the saga texts is the subject of Halldór Laxness’s novel Iceland’s Bell, published in three volumes from 1943 to 1946 at the height of the Icelandic independence movement. Through a discussion of the novel, this essay will show that the Icelandic sagas, both as tangible and intangible cultural artefacts, are central to Laxness’s articulation of a cultural nationalism that is resistant to Danish colonial domination. It will suggest that not only is Iceland’s Bell a novel concerned with the material history of the sagas, but that this history is intricately linked with the island’s seven centuries of colonial domination by the Kingdom of Denmark. It is thus a consciously anti-colonial novel that portrays the violence, in both cultural and material terms, of Danish rule in Iceland and aligns cultural enclosure with colonial domination.

The socio-cultural discourse of falsifications of national history and the actual tasks of school humanitarian education

The socio-cultural discourse of falsifications of national history and the actual tasks of school humanitarian education

PRECEDENT NAMES AS TRANSMITTERS OF HISTORICAL AND COLLECTIVE MEMORY IN THE POEM “THE TIME IN BURSA” BY A. H. TANPINAR

This article explores the use of precedent names as carriers of historical and collective memory in A. H. Tanpınar's poem “The Time in Bursa.” Precedent names, being culturally significant proper nouns, evoke historical, cultural, and social connotations that resonate deeply within a collective consciousness. The study analyzes how these names serve as linguistic bridges between past and present, shaping a shared understanding of national identity and heritage in Tanpınar’s poetry. The analysis focuses on the poem's ability to transmit cultural memory through names associated with key historical events, figures, and places, thus linking personal memory with collective historical narratives. By exploring the poetic function of these precedent names, the article highlights Tanpınar’s contribution to preserving and enriching the cultural identity of Turkish society. Employing methods such as textual, intertextual, and historical-linguistic analysis, the research uncovers how Tanpınar’s use of precedent names fosters a dialogue between individual and national history, allowing readers to engage with the collective memory of their community. The study positions precedent names not merely as literary devices, but as pivotal elements in understanding the dynamics of memory and identity in Turkish poetry. This research aims to broaden the understanding of how names rooted in cultural and historical significance can function as powerful transmitters of collective memory, contributing to the formation of a cohesive national identity in literary texts.

‘Time becomes memory, and memory becomes the ditch in which we drown’: rethinking modes of knowing the past in Ian McGuire’s The Abstainer (2020)

ABSTRACT This article argues that historical novels play a crucial part in rethinking contemporary modes of knowing the past. Drawing on Achille Mbembe’s concept of necropolitics and Judith Butler’s thoughts on precarious life, this article elucidates the close relationship between modes of knowing the past and progressive politics in the present, crystallised in the political concept of grievability. National histories paint the picture of ‘a past without strangers’, in the terms of Achille Mbembe, creating narrow circles of grievability which do not challenge established solidarities and structures of political inequalities in the present. This article goes on to demonstrate that historical novels may subvert this nationalist fantasy through the portrayal of liminal characters in liminal spaces. Ian McGuire’s The Abstainer (2020), set in an intra-European colonial context, continually breaks the frame of what is considered a grievable life by criticising a mode of knowing the past that prioritises mourning the dead over caring for the needs of the living in the present. In conclusion, this article argues that The Abstainer ultimately proposes a radical and paradoxical mode of knowing the past: It urges us to recognise that commemoration of the dead may become an obsessions and justification for acts of violence, and encourages us to rethink not just what histories we tell, but also how we tell them.

On the issue of the formation of the national identity of students (on the case of universities in Kazakhstan)

Introduction. The article examines the theoretical aspects and practical possibilities of formation of national identity in universities of Kazakhstan. This problem is becoming relevant in the context of the globalization of knowledge and international integration of education, the growth of academic mobility and the expansion of intercultural communications. Aim. The aim is to explore the mechanisms of constructing national identity and strengthening the national features of educational programs of higher education based on the study and generalization of the experience of Kazakhstani universities. Methodology and research methods. Based on the content analysis of normative documents on education, the content of bachelor's degree curricula and critical understanding of foreign scientific literature, the authors attempt to fill in the gaps in understanding the mechanisms of formation of national identity in higher education in the country and show its features. Results. The authors present the results of an analysis of the structure and content of bachelor educational programs at universities in Kazakhstan for the presence of the national component in them. Тhe authors summarize that the formation of national identity among the younger generation and filling it with semantic content is considered by the Kazakh academic community as an important state task, as a foundation for the cohesion and spiritual unity of citizens of a multinational country. The mechanisms of constructing national identity in the higher education system have been developed at the state level and are implemented in university training and educational practices. The national component of bachelor's degree programs, focused on formation of national identity, is provided by the content of general education humanities and language disciplines. University programs are developed in accordance with the requirements of the State Bachelor's Degree Standard, which contains a list of compulsory subjects for studying national history and culture, Kazakh, Russian and foreign languages. The principles of academic freedom allow universities to enhance the national flavor of educational programs by filling elective courses with national content. Scientific novelty. In modern conditions, the problem of ensuring the national identity of educational programs universities does not at all seem to be an axiom that contradicts the processes of internationalization of education. Universities around the world use various mechanisms to ensure the national identity of their programs, making them more attractive to students in the context of the development of intercultural communication. Kazakh universities are still gaining experience, but it may already be of interest from the point of view of accumulating practical experience. The practical significance of the study lies in the formulation of the problem as one of the important discourses in higher education. The results of the study will make a certain contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms and factors influencing the provision of national identity of educational programs using the example of a specific country. The article contributes to the scientific conversation about the meaning of national identity and can be a contribution to the study of the problems of forming the national identity of the younger generation.

A WELL-KNOWN RESEARCHER OF THE HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE. For the 70th Anniversary of the Czech Historian Professor Jan Rychlík

The purpose of the article is to highlight the contribution of the Czech historian and ethnologist Professor Jan Rychlík to the study of the history of Central and Eastern Europe. The research methodology was aimed at the analysis of the scientist's main publications on the history of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The applied research principles of historicism, scientific objectivity and systematicity contributed to highlighting the main aspects of J. Rychlík's diverse scientific work. The authors of the article note that for J. Rychlík history became one of the priority objects of scientific study after the Velvet revolution of 1989, when, under the conditions of democratization, historians of Czechoslovakia gained freedom of scientific creativity. Among the relevant research topics was the issue of relations between Czechs and Slovaks in 1918-1992. The scholar thoroughly researched their individual stages and, in particular, the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic 1918-1938 - one of the few democratic states of Central and Eastern Europe at that time. J. Rychlík deeply analyzed and assessed the trends of socio-political, economic, and cultural development of various regions of the First Republic, the peculiarities of interethnic relations, its international position, noted the positive role of this state in the history of the Czechs, Slovaks and Ruthenians-Ukrainians of Transcarpathia. Summarizing Czech-Slovak relations in general for the years 1918-1992, J. Rychlík considered one of the main reasons for the termination of the Czechoslovak state at the end of 1992 to be the failure to create a political Czechoslovak nation. The field of scientific interests of J. Rychlík also includes the national histories of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which resulted in the publication of a number of monographs on the past of the states of the region: Bulgaria (2000), Macedonia (2003), Croatia (2007), Slovenia (2011), the Czech Republic (2013), Ukraine (2015, 2022), Slovakia (2023), where the researcher was a co-author. In the conclusions of the article, the authors stated that J. Rychlík is one of the leading contemporary Czech researchers of the history of Central and Eastern European countries. The contribution of J. Rychlík to the study of the history of Czech-Slovak relations from 1918 to 1992 is especially significant. Jan Rychlík's extensive work on the history of the Czech and Slovak state is an important basis for further study of the past of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in different periods.

The visual construction of the people’s country and the Chinese nation: political aesthetics in the Ethno-documentaries of New China

This paper discusses the political positioning of the people and the cultural image of the Chinese nation through the lens of the Social-historical Scientific Documentary Films of China’s ethnic minorities (hereafter referred to as “the Ethno-documentaries”) by restoring the problem to the site of the investigation of humanities and social sciences and the General Surveys on (Folk) Arts in the early years of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s. Through detailed analysis of specific Ethno-documentary films, this paper explores how the social sciences conducted its “Social and Historical Investigation of China’s Ethnic Minorities” via the medium of film to convey the advanced social concepts and ideological work of the new regime through the historical narrative of art and politics. This study highlights three key points. First, the “Chinese nation” as a modern political concept dates its origins back to the 1920s with the emergence of the “National Heritage Reorganization Movement” and the “Doubting Antiquity School.” However, it was only through the medium of the Ethno-documentaries that this concept was visually and aurally represented in films for the first time, which draws our attention to the fact that the entry point for understanding modern China lies in discerning the relationship between culture and politics. Second, when discussing the relationship between culture and politics, this study juxtaposes the Ethno-documentaries and “art for workers-peasants-soldiers,” which developed during the same period. These two forms of art focus respectively on national history and the suffering of the lower classes of society, and it is this intertextual nature of the historical narrative that jointly anchors the cultural and historical view of New China. Lastly, historical view is the core of the humanities, social sciences, and art disciplines in New China. Previous studies have mainly attributed certain phenomena to the “politicization” or “pan-politicization” of a particular historical period due to disciplinary barriers and cultural trauma and have stopped discussing such topics in depth. In contrast, the significance of the political aesthetics in the Ethno-documentaries is to have transformed classical Chinese artistic language into a modern one to represent the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. It also raises a question of re-sinicization of many modern political issues that have persisted until now: How do today’s Chinese art works vividly depict the prosperity of this country and its hardworking and courageous people?

Значение философии процесса в концептуальном формировании современной китайской эстетики как результат культурной динамики периода Второго Просвещения в Китае

This article examines the formation of modern Chinese aesthetics based on a specific period, which received its own name – the Second Enlightenment. This time determined the parameters of the real Chinese intellectual culture, became the basis for the formation of philosophical aesthetics as a part of it. The authors note similarities and differences in the course of the periods of the First and Second Enlightenment. In evaluating the latter period, emphasis is placed on the turn of Chinese culture towards national history and priorities. The philosophy of the process in the field of aesthetics in the Middle Kingdom turned out to be focused on the Chinese aesthetic experience and its procedural analysis, it refused to develop in line with Western standards, which as a result led to its wide dissemination in China, making it the basis for most modern national aesthetic concepts, in which the functional-oriented, rather than object-oriented, is at the forefront- a deterministic approach. This article will allow the reader to more accurately represent these circumstances, which are essential for cross-cultural interaction between Russia and China, using the example of the significant fact of the influence of the philosophy of the process, founded by A.N. Whitehead, on modern Chinese aesthetic thought.

Evolutionary isolation of Canadian terrestrial vertebrate species

Conservation prioritization has become increasingly important as a practical response to ongoing biodiversity loss and limited resources. One tool, evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) is based on a measure of evolutionary isolation and has merit for identifying taxa with few close relatives. Here we present the first ever national-level ED scores for any jurisdiction, applying the measures to all Canadian tetrapods. We updated and pruned global dated phylogenies of all terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, squamates, turtles, mammals, and birds) down to native Canadian species and calculated Canadian ED scores and rankings for each and compared them to their global ED ranks. Canada’s terrestrial ectotherm vertebrates (amphibians and reptiles) include most of Canada’s most evolutionarily isolated species and many score and rank higher nationally than globally in their ED scores. These taxa are also the most imperilled in Canada and so species with populations assessed as at-risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) represent, on average, more than expected national evolutionary history. Interestingly, several exotic species also have very high national ED scores. To the extent that evolutionary isolation captures aspects of local and national biodiversity worth preserving, our lists may provide useful input to conservation agencies engaging in conservation prioritization exercises.

Советский социализм: о природе и уроках проекта

Abstract. This article explores the prerequisites, content, and outcomes of the Soviet project. The term refers to the predominance of arbitrary organization of social reality over its naturally-historical self-determination. Unlike the utopian denial of existing social being, the project is viewed as a technological compensation for the mediating disruptions and interruptions in evolutionary trends. The Soviet period of national history is examined as the largest known endeavor to create a new society, vividly illustrating the inherent internal dialectics that underscore the stability and viability of a constructed consciousness of existence. However, this dual nature imposes a strict limit on such a construction: the act of historical arbitrariness is incapable of transcending the nearest state of stable equilibrium within the social system, where the objective laws of social development reclaim their unlimited authority. Moreover, the earlier inability to impose self-restraint leads arbitrariness to its own negation.

Ireland Bros.’ Pan-American Electric Carnival: Canadians’ border-crossing circuits of early cinema

ABSTRACT Early cinema exhibitors George H. and Egerton L. Ireland were better known in Jamaica and Trinidad than in their homeland of Canada. Named the Pan-American Electric Carnival, after a failed bid to show moving pictures at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, between 1900 and 1908 they toured Canada, the United States, across the Caribbean and into South America. Almost absent from Canadian film history, los hermanos Ireland are mentioned in at least eight national and local film histories from across Latin America, and even in a US history. Yet, few of these recognize connections to each other, let alone the brothers’ roots in Canada. I take the Ireland brothers’ peripatetic travels throughout the Western hemisphere as a curious case that is uniquely Canadian. Although Ireland Bros.’ motivations are unknowable, their inter-colonial journeys can only partly be explained by wanderlust, seeking escape from rural Canadian roots. I propose their significance is the provision of modern entertainment that was not simply a conduit of British colonialism nor merely a channel for American imperialism. Instead, I conclude speculatively that the brothers’ circuits of cinema along Pan-American trade routes reflect an ethos of Pan-Americanism emergent at the turn of the twentieth century.

The AI-assisted Traditional Design Methods for the Construction Sustainability: A Case Study of the Lisu Ethnic Minority Village

In recent decades, economic and technical advancements have surged tremendously, accompanied by non-regulatory and unsustainable use of non-renewable assets. The ecological field of toxicology has garnered considerable focus on elucidating the impact of harmful substances on people's wellness. Environmental hazardous chemicals induce many illnesses, posing a heightened danger to youngsters, pregnant women, the elderly, and anyone with preexisting health conditions. Air pollution adversely impacts human health, leading to heightened morbidity and death, necessitating intensified toxicological investigations on industrial air pollution affecting the general populace. It is necessary to develop a computerized Ecological Toxicology-based Air Pollution Management System. Constructive social development is driven by cultural education. It can guarantee a sustainable future, protect national history, and unleash community potential. This study examines Chinese architects' perspectives and understanding of sustainability in village revitalization and conservation. It incorporates traditional Lisu building techniques and materials in Hunan, China. To close research gaps, this study looks at the contributions made by architects to traditional practice integration and environmentally conscious architectural design. This study proposes an IoT-enabled Environmental Toxicology platform for air pollution surveillance, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to mitigate the limits of standard monitoring systems and lower total costs, enhancing human wellness. The research examined the intricate interaction between architects' understanding of sustainability, Lisu building techniques and materials, and sustainable architectural designs in village preservation and revitalization programs using path analysis on data from 326 architects in Hunan Province. Lisu building practices and materials strongly correlate with architects' awareness of and attitudes toward sustainability. According to the research, these characteristics are necessary for sustainable architectural solutions that support village revival and preservation. This study has significant theoretical and practical ramifications for academics, lawmakers, and architects. To evaluate the air quality monitoring efficacy of the suggested approach, a comprehensive series of simulation analyses is conducted, and the results are assessed at durations of 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes. The experimental results demonstrate the superior efficacy of the suggested model compared to current methodologies. These findings could lead to the creation of sustainable design solutions that advance rural development. A thorough overview of upcoming studies on sustainable design approaches in Chinese contexts rounds out this talk.

Researcher of national history

The article highlights the problems of scientific research, the creative biography of the great Tatar historian Salyam Khatipovich Alishev, who, having entered graduate school at the age of 34, achieved outstanding success thanks to his determination and enormous diligence, love for the craft of a historian and the desire to learn and write the true history of his native people. In the 1970–1980s, when the planned scientific topics of the majority of the employees of the sector of history were limited to the Soviet period, the achievements and successes of the Institute of Language, Literature and History in the study of the past of the Tatar people of the 15th – 19th centuries were largely determined by the works of S.Kh. Alishev. For citation: Zagidullin I.K. Researcher of national history. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2024, vol.14, no.3, pp.172–185. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2024-14-3.172-185 (In Russian)

Remixing Britishness: Affect and National Pride in the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony

During the London 2012 Opening Olympic Ceremony, emotional moments such as the torch relay and the celebration of the National Health Service affected many viewers. Such a spectacle of national history and culture was wide-sweeping and is still remembered today as a moment of triumph for the country. With the Paris 2024 Olympics only months away, it becomes timely to observe how the sensorial spectacle of the Olympics works to create a certain emotional effect in its viewers, and how they leave with a specific understanding of what the nation stands for. Crucially, it is imperative to survey the ways in which national histories and cultures have been edited for an "Olympic affect" during the Opening Ceremony and comprehend why they play such a crucial role in contemporary political discourse. The London 2012 Opening Olympic Ceremony revealed a particular perspective on British history, used emotion and spectacle to recount a specific version of events, and attempted to garner a certain sense of national pride during a time of national crisis. In examining specific visual and auditory cues of this Opening Olympic Ceremony, this study will define the "Olympic affect" and examine the idealised Britishness that is performed, so that we may understand what kind of affectual and political power the Olympics hold.

Preserving and promoting national cultural identity for students majoring in the University of Greenwich Vietnam’s Graphic and Digital Design in an international University environment

In terms of development and integration of globalization, Vietnam has many qualities of international universities with international standard training programs, which prestigious educational accreditation organizations have recognized. Students have the opportunity to study entirely in English and in an advanced learning environment, which is a great advantage for learners in accessing international education. Research on Preserving and promoting national cultural identity for students majoring in the University of Greenwich Vietnam’s Graphic and Digital Design in an international University environment aims to emphasize the importance of national cultural identity in development, current globalization integration, especially for students studying international training programs that do not have specific subjects on national history and cultural traditions. From there, the topic proposes a number of solutions to raise learners' awareness of preserving and promoting national cultural identity in future professional activities. The research used analysis, synthesis, and interdisciplinary methods such as cultural studies, ethnology, and fine arts. This paper aims to contribute to the study of solutions to preserve national cultural identity in the context of today's international integration

Embodied national history: leaders, regime change, and regional historiographical trends of independent Cambodia

Abstract Post-independence national historical writings have often been seen as a product of nationalist advocacy and modern nation-state formation. Moving beyond this perspective, this article considers how political leaders took a direct role in promoting different kinds and forms of collective historical thoughts to strengthen their leadership. Specifically, the article explores an active engagement of independent Cambodia's leaders such as Prince Sihanouk, Lon Nol, and Pol Pot, who independently saw national historical understanding as one's own monopolized source of power. It also discusses how different historical accounts in the country were shaped by, and kept up with, other important factors such as Cold War confrontations and regional and global historiographical trends, including “Modernist” and “Marxist” approaches. Discussing these factors helps us understand more critically national historical accounts, which were closely intertwined with specific socioreligious and political circumstances such as political rule and legitimacy, widespread public anxieties, and geopolitical tensions. It also sheds light on the substantial impact of state-imposed historical interpretations on society. As informed by the Cambodian case, this impact can be seen in the implementation of state projects stirred by certain kinds of historical understanding which consequently transformed the living conditions of thousands of people.

Národní kategorie a současná historiografie

This article is concerned with the social and cultural conditions underlying the continuing important role of concepts of national history. This continuing viability means that concepts that are ever more strikingly emerging as an alternative to national histories are actually failing to challenge them and often in fact derive from nationalist categories (regional history as the history of regions within nations and so on). The basic circumstances underlying the demand for national histories continue to be considered problematised, but the importance of national identities for European societies remains one of the decisive factors here. In regard to national histories, therefore, the situation offers historiography an extensive but at the same time very problematic opportunity for the legitimisation of the discipline. The article is focused on European trends specifically since the end of the 1980s with particular attention to Czech historiography. In this context, it then touches on several important discussions and disputes in Czech historiography over the last 15 years.

Yeni ‘Film’ veya ‘Sinema’ Tarihi: Sinema Tarihi Yazımında Yeni Gelişen İlkeler, Kuramlar ve Metodolojiler Üzerine Düşünceler

Film as an artefact has long been the subject of study by “film historians,” whether in terms of stylistic authenticity, genre specificity, or “high theory” analysis. Conversely, film history has been written as if films had no audiences (Biltereyst et al, 2012, p. 693). This kind of filmic-textual research tendency lies at the heart of the legacy of film studies discipline. In 1973, Jean Mitry proposed an ideal of film history as simultaneously, a history of its industry, its technologies, its systems of expression (or, more precisely, its systems of signification), and aesthetic structures, all bound together by the forces of the economic, psychosocial and cultural order (Maltby, 2006, p. 80). Humanities-based film studies were first re-conceptualized by the initiatives of International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), during its 1974 and 1978 conferences. Drawing on the methodological stance of the French Annales school’s histoire totale, participants at the 1974 FIAF conference agreed on new historiographical methodologies for all rather than linear national cinema histories. In 1990, American historian Robert Sklar brought forward three types of “cinema historians” in which only second sub-type might be labeled as ‘film historian’ which has been emerged from one of the following disciplines: art history, philosophy, literary studies.

ON THE ISSUE OF KAZAKHSTAN’S USE OF NATIONAL HISTORY AS AN ELEMENT OF SOFT POWER

The article discusses the possibility of Kazakhstan’s using its national history as an element of soft power in its foreign policy. Particular attention is paid to the conceptual and methodological foundations of soft power, as well as to the analysis of the world-renowned ratings of soft power in terms of their applicability in assessing the «resourceness» of national history. The article proposes some perspective ways of promoting the national history of Kazakhstan among the international audiences.

Questioning Devotions, Reorienting Commitments

This paper is a methodological reflection on my time as a graduate student studying Indian Residential Schools through archival sources. I broadly survey relevant secondary studies to access the current state of the field and to chart prospective avenues for future scholarly engagement. I suggest that, for religionists, the frameworks of church history and mission history can be selectively utilized to examine the history of residential schooling. I argue that the ‘Indian Residential School’ (or IRS) terminology creates a narrowed understanding of colonialism and assimilative education by disregarding other modes of schooling deployed in Indigenous communities: the day schools and mission schools, but also hospitals, convents, and other church-operated institutions. Largely dating to the pre-Confederation period, mission schools especially fade from view when studies focus on the national model of the IRS launched in 1879 and expanded in 1884. In many regional contexts, mission schools of the colonial era laid the literal and conceptual groundwork for the later launching of the IRS system. By studying the works and the records of specific church bodies, religionists might elucidate with greater clarity the evolving differences, synchronicities, or collaborations of ideologies, policies, and practices among members of church and state over several centuries. Attending to pre-Confederation, colonial history also lends a transnational scope to a topic that is often framed in the context of national history, i.e., ‘Canada’s residential school system’. A global perspective on colonial education could assist historians of religion to assess the legacies of church, empire, and imperialism on Canada’s national model of residential schooling.