Jewish Heritage and the New Belarusian National Identity Project

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 332-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Waligórska
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
Jewish Heritage ◽  
National Heritage ◽  
Grassroots Initiatives ◽  
Repressive Regime ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania

Focusing on three contemporary grassroots initiatives of preserving Jewish heritage and commemorating Jews in Belarus, namely, the Jewish Museum in Minsk, Ada Raǐchonak’s private museum of regional heritage in Hermanovichi, and the initiative of erecting the monument of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda in Hlybokae, the present article discusses how local efforts to commemorate Jews and preserve Jewish heritage tap into the culture of political dissent, Belarus’s international relations, and the larger project of redefining the Belarusian national identity. Looking at the way these memorial interventions frame Jewish legacy within a Belarusian national narrative, the article concentrates in particular on the institution of the public historian and the small, informal social networks used to operate under a repressive regime. Incorporating the multicultural legacy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into the canon of Belarusian national heritage and recognizing the contribution of ethnic minorities to the cultural landscape of Belarus, new memory projects devoted to Jewish history in Belarus mark a caesura in the country’s engagement with its ethnic Others and are also highly political. While the effort of filling in the gaps in national historiography and celebrating the cultural diversity of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania overlaps in significant ways with the agenda of the anti-Lukashenka opposition, Jewish heritage in Belarus also resonates with the state authorities, who seek to instrumentalize it for their own vision of national unity.

scholarly journals “Our Victims Define Our Borders”: Commemorating Yugoslav Partisans in the Italo-Yugoslav Borderland

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-310
Author(s):  
Borut Klabjan
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
World War ◽  
Production Of Space ◽  
National Narratives ◽  
Local Newspaper ◽  
Grassroots Initiatives

This article is part of the special section titled From the Iron Curtain to the Schengen Area, guest edited by Wolfgang Mueller and Libora Oates-Indruchová. This article discusses local cultures of remembrance of Yugoslav partisans fallen during World War II in Trieste, now part of Italy, and investigates the role of memory activists in managing vernacular memory over time. The author analyses the interplay between memory and the production of space, something which has been neglected in other studies of memory formation. On the basis of local newspaper articles, archival material, and oral interviews, the essay examines the ideological imprint on the local cultural landscape, contributing to a more complex understanding of memory engagement. The focus is on grassroots initiatives rather than state-sponsored heritage projects. This article argues that memory initiatives are not solely the outcome of national narratives and top–down ideological impositions. It shows that official narratives have to negotiate with vernacular forms of memory engagement in the production of a local mnemonic landscape.

scholarly journals W poszukiwaniu idei narodowej: „krajowość” początku XX wieku jako próba ideologii „Polaków litewskich”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksander Smalianczuk
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Main Criterion ◽  
National Ideology ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Polish Culture ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Determining Factor ◽  
Grand Duchy

In the Search for a National Idea: Krajowość in the Beginning of the Twentieth Century as an Attempt at “Lithuanian Poles’" IdeologyKrajowość as the national ideology of the “civil” (or “political”) type developed in Belarus and Lithuania at the beginning of the twentieth century. The adherents of krajowośćclaimed that all native inhabitants of historical Lithuania, disregarding their ethno-cultural identity, are “the citizens of the Kraj” [the Countrymen] and therefore belong to one nation. Some called them “the nation of Lithuanians.” The category of “the native inhabitants” was used in relation to the Lithuanians, Belarusians, Poles, Jews, and almost never to Russians. As the main criterion for a national identity they proclaimed patriotism and self-identification as citizens.The krajowość idea appeared among the nobility. Its representatives belong to the combined Polish culture in respect of their own Lithuanian and Belarusian origin. The former Grand Duchy of Lithuania was interpreted by them as a historical native land. It was the determining factor in the formation of a new identity.All adherents of krajowość (Michal Romer, Roman Skirmunt, Kanstancyja Skirmuntt, Ludwik Abramovich, etc.) belonged to the group of the “Lithuania (vel Belarus) Poles”. Despite their intentions, the krajowość idea was formed on the basis of the “Lithuanian Poles’” struggle for their own place in the new society. As a result, the ideology for “Lithuanian Poles” was created, but it could not neutralize the existing Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian conflict. W poszukiwaniu idei narodowej: „krajowość” początku XX wieku jako próba ideologii „Polaków litewskich”„Krajowość”, czyli ,,ideologia krajowa”, została sformułowana na Białorusi i Litwie na początku XX wieku. Krajowcy stwierdzali, że wszyscy rdzenni mieszkańcy historycznej Litwy, niezależnie od ich etnokulturowej i stanowej przynależności, należą do jednego „narodu Litwinów”. Za główne kryteria owej narodowej przynależności uznano poczucie patriotyzmu w stosunku do Litwy historycznej. Jednym z celów krajowości było pogodzenie partykularnych interesów miejscowych narodów z ich ogólnym interesem, pod jakim rozumiano dobro wspólnej Ojczyzny, historycznej Litwy. Jednak mimo zamiarów ideologów, którzy mówili o „obywatelach Kraju”, krajowość wyrosła z poszukiwania przez Polaków litewskich swego miejsca w nowym społeczeństwie. Koncepcja krajowa była ideologią Polaków litewskich, stworzoną przede wszystkim dla nich. Z postanowieniami krajowców była związana przede wszystkim perspektywa polskości na Litwie historycznej.

Spinoza’s Jewish Modernities

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Jewish Identity ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
Modern State ◽  
Jewish Culture ◽  
The Status ◽  
Modern Jewish History ◽  
Great Culture

This introductory chapter considers why the hallmark of modern Jewish identity is its resistance to—and, at the same time, obsession with—definition. Like battles over national identity in the modern state, clashes over the nature and limits of Jewishness have frequently taken the shape of controversies over the status—and stature—of marginal Jews past and present. The Jewish rehabilitation of historical heretics and apostates with a vexed relationship to Judaism has become so much a part of contemporary discourse that it is difficult to imagine secular Jewish culture without it. Yet this tendency has a beginning as well as a template in modern Jewish history, which the chapter introduces in the figure of Baruch (or Benedictus) Spinoza (1632–1677)—“the first great culture-hero of modern secular Jews,” and still the most oft-mentioned candidate for the title of first modern secular Jew.

scholarly journals Stand Up for the Burrup: Saving the Largest Aboriginal Rock Art Precinct in Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 92-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
National Heritage ◽  
Aboriginal Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

The Dampier Rock Art Precinct contains the largest and most ancient collection of Aboriginal rock art in Australia. The cultural landscape created by generations of Aboriginal people includes images of long-extinct fauna and demonstrates the response of peoples to a changing climate over thousands of years as well as the continuity of lived experience. Despite Australian national heritage listing in 2007, this cultural landscape continues to be threatened by industrial development. Rock art on the eastern side of the archipelago, on the Burrup Peninsula, was relocated following the discovery of adjacent off-shore gas reserves so that a major gas plant could be constructed. Work has now begun on the construction of a second major gas plant nearby. This article describes the rock art of the Dampier Archipelago and the troubled history of European-Aboriginal contact history, before examining the impact of industry on the region and its environment. The destruction of Aboriginal rock art to meet the needs of industry is an example of continuing indifference to Aboriginal culture. While the complex struggle to protect the cultural landscape of the Burrup, in particular, involving Indigenous people, archaeologists, historians, state and federal politicians, government bureaucrats and multi-national companies, eventually led to national heritage listing, it is not clear that the battle to save the Burrup has been won.

Die God Is Onse God ...1 Hymns, Hymnals and the National Identity of the Afrikaner2

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Elsabé Kloppers
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
The Bible ◽  
National Heritage ◽  
Hymn Tunes

AbstractIn this article the convergence of the religion and national identity of the Afrikaner is examined and related to the influence of these views on the hymnological tradition of the Afrikaner. It is argued that some metrical psalms used to be particularly popular especially because of the parallels seen between Israel of the Bible and the Afrikaner nation. The hymns or metrical psalms usually sung on the Day of the Covenant are significant in indicating the `national' hymns - hymns or metrical psalms that played a role in promoting national identity. Folk hymn tunes that may be seen as part of the national heritage, and the influence of hymnals in Afrikaans on the national identity are discussed. It is shown that an overbearing demand for preservation and protection of the national heritage' has hampered the development of a true Afrikaans hymnody and that an inspired new Afrikaans hymnody is still to be developed.

scholarly journals Studenica Marble: Significance, Use, Conservation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nevena Debljović Ristić ◽  
Nenad Šekularac ◽  
Dušan Mijović ◽  
Jelena Ivanović Šekularac
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Landscape Management ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Architectural Elements ◽  
National Heritage ◽  
Architectural Structures ◽  
The Right

Studenica marble is the stone used in creating the mediaeval Serbian cultural heritage. This is a historical overview of the importance and use of stone from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages, when the most imposing religious architectural structures were built. The significance of Studenica marble is particularly manifested in the Virgin’s Church at the Studenica Monastery. For its marble façades and artistic architectural elements, among other things, the church was inscribed in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List in 1986. Through centuries, the Virgin’s Church suffered multiple destructions. In order to restore the marble façades properly and its architectural elements, the marble deposits where the stone was once quarried had to be located anew. When the stone material characterisation had been performed, the right stone was selected for the complex conservation works on the churches in Studenica and Sopocani. A practical implementation of the research results raised the awareness of the marble deposits in the Studenica vicinity, being also part of the national heritage. The Studenica Monastery Cultural Landscape Management Plan envisions preservation of the deposits and their sustainable use for restoration purposes in the future.

Immigration, Multiculturalism and National Identity in Canada

1997 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Racial Composition ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Canadian Immigration Policy ◽  
Historical Importance ◽  
Bilingual And Multicultural ◽  
Canadian Immigration

AbstractThis article describes historical circumstances and developments that contributed to the formation of Canadian national identity. Specifically, it focuses on the historical importance of immigration to population growth, the evolution of Canadian immigration policy from exclusionist to universalist, relations between anglophones and francophones, the advent of the multiculturalism policy, and how that policy has been both expanded and strengthened in reponse to the changing ethnic and racial composition of Canada's population. Despite pride in the country's support for tolerance and diversity, Canadians continue to be concerned about immigration and national identity. The challenge of promoting national unity in the context of remarkable diversity is faced by many countries, but it is especially daunting for the young, bilingual, and multicultural Canadian State.

Remembering and forgetting: the state policy of memorializing Stalin's repression in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanat Kundakbayeva ◽  
Didar Kassymova
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Common System ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Museum Exhibitions ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Government

The general perception of Western analysts and observers is that the nation-states created as a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union all treat the memory of the dark, repressive aspects of the Stalinist regime in public spaces as a symbolic element in the creation of a new post-Soviet identity [Denison, Michael. 2009. “The Art of the Impossible: Political Symbolism, and the Creation of National Identity and Collective Memory in Post-Soviet Turkmenistan.”Europe-Asia Studies61 (7): 1167–1187]. We argue that the government of Kazakhstan employs non-nationalistic discourse in its treatment of Stalinist victims’ commemoration in a variety of forms, through the creation of modern memorial complexes at the sites of horrific Soviet activity (mass burial places, labor camps, and detention centers), purpose-built museum exhibitions, and the commemorative speeches of its president and other officials. Kazakhstan's strategy in commemorating its Soviet past is designed to highlight the inclusiveness of repression on all peoples living in its territory at that time, not just Kazakhs, thereby assisting in bringing together its multinational and multiethnic society. Thus, the official stance treats this discourse as an important symbolic source of shaping the collective memory of the nation, based on “a general civil identity without prioritizing one ethnic group over another — a national unity, founded on the recognition of a common system of values and principles for all citizens” [Shakirova, Svetlana. 2012. “Letters to Nazarbaev: Kazakhstan's Intellectuals Debate National Identity.” February 7. Accessed July 28, 2015.http://postsovietpost.stanford.edu/discussion/letters-nazarbaev-kazakhstans-intellectuals-debate-national-identity].

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