Reading List

Whose History Counts

Decolonising African Pre-Colonial Historiography

By June Bam, Lungisile Ntsebeza & Allan Zinn (Eds.) • 2018

Originally planned as a fact-based book on the pre-colonial history of the Eastern Cape in the true tradition of history, this ground-breaking book focuses on epistemological and foundational questions about the writing of history and whose history counts. Whose History Counts challenges the very concept of “pre-colonial” and explores methodologies on researching and writing history. The reason for this dramatic change of focus is attributed in the introduction of the book to the student-led rebellion that erupted following the… Read More

Law and Memory

Towards Legal Governance of History

By Uladzislau Belavusau & Aleksandra Gliszczyńska (Eds.) • 2017

Legal governance of memory has played a central role in establishing hegemony of monumental history, and has forged national identities and integration processes in Europe and beyond. In this book, a range of contributors explore both the nature and role of legal engagement into historical memory in selected national law, European and international law. They also reflect on potential conflicts between legal governance, political pluralism, and fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression. In recent years, there have been… Read More

Is It Wrong to Topple Statues and Rename Schools?

By Joanna Burch-Brown • 2017

In recent years, campaigns across the globe have called for the removal of objects symbolic of white supremacy. This paper examines the ethics of altering or removing such objects. Do these strategies sanitize history, destroy heritage and suppress freedom of speech? Or are they important steps towards justice? Does removing monuments and renaming schools reflect a lack of parity and unfairly erase local identities? Or can it sometimes be morally required, as an expression of respect for the memories… Read More

Collective Memory, Politics, and the Influence of the Past

The Politics of Memory as a Research Paradigm

By Peter J. Verovšek • 2016

The author discusses the past in the context of memories and collective remembrance, and how memories are utilised in the politics of the present day. Both relevant literature, and discursive conception of the politics of memory, are presented. Read More

Historical Justice and Memory

By Klaus Neumann & Janna Thompson (Eds.) • 2015

Historical Justice and Memory highlights the global movement for historical justice—acknowledging and redressing historic wrongs—as one of the most significant moral and social developments of our times. Such historic wrongs include acts of genocide, slavery, systems of apartheid, the systematic persecution of presumed enemies of the state, colonialism, and the oppression of or discrimination against ethnic or religious minorities. Read More

Post-Communist Poland

Contested Pasts and Future Identities

By Ewa Ochman • 2013

The book explores the reinterpretations of Poland’s past which have been undertaken by Polish national and local elites since the fall of communism. It focuses on remembrance practices and traces the de-commemorating of communism to examine the ways in which collective remembering and forgetting shapes present power constellations in Poland and impacts on foreign and domestic policy. Read More

How is Historical Knowledge Recognized?

By Ernest Wamba-Dia-Wamba • 2008

The author discusses the concept of historical memory, what is it and how is it collected, and how historical knowledge plays an integral part in social transformations and developments. Read More

Sorry States

Apologies in International Politics

By Jennifer Lind • 2008

The post-World War II experiences of Japan and Germany suggest that international apologies have powerful healing effects when they are offered, and poisonous effects when withheld. The author demonstrates that denials of past atrocities fuel distrust and inhibit international reconciliation, by examining the cases of South Korean relations with Japan and of French relations with Germany. Read More

The Narrative Organization of Collective Memory

By James V. Wertsch • 2008

In the article, the author explores the power of narrative and how this connects to collective memory. Read More

Explaining Wartime Rape

By Jonathan Gottschall • 2004

The article provides a brief overview of the literature on wartime rape in historical and ethnographical societies and a critical analysis of the four leading explanations for its root causes: the feminist theory, the cultural pathology theory, the strategic rape theory, and the biosocial theory. Read More

From Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation

By Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov • 2004

While conflict resolution is believed to cause temporary settlements and brief periods of peace in volatile situations, conventional conflict resolution techniques are not capable of building long-term stability. Instead, this book contends, practitioners of conflict resolution need to focus more on reconciliation (the restoration of confidence, friendship, and harmony between rivals) than on mere conflict resolution. Read More

Theorizing Historical Consciousness

By Peter Seixas • 2004

Theorizing Historical Consciousness sets various theoretical approaches to the study of historical consciousness side-by-side, enabling us to chart the future study of how people understand the past. Within this book, the problem of historical consciousness from the disciplinary perspectives of history, historiography, philosophy, collective memory, psychology, and history education, is addressed. Read More