scholarly journals Between Commemoration and Living Memory: Symbolic Acts of the Teutonic Knights in Light of Cultural Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 285-313
Author(s):  
Nicholas W. Youmans
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Institutional Arrangement ◽  
Cultural Meaning ◽  
The Past ◽  
Condensed Form ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Communal Expression ◽  
Cultural Historian ◽  
Teutonic Knights

The present article investigates the function of ritual acts as a form of communication vis-à-vis cultural meaning in the life of the Teutonic Knights. As a condensed form of communal expression, rituals exhibit an acute potential to render present collective identity and shape the lives of the communities that practice them. Such potential is manifest in the institutional arrangement of the Teutonic Order in various forms with particular reference to their dual standing in society, insofar as they drew upon the societal models of the oratores and the bellatores. Particularly relevant to the current study, considerations of cultural historian and social analyst Jan Assmann regarding symbolic acts and collective living memory assist in creating the theoretical framework for the study’s deliberations. With Assmann’s insights in mind, ritual is understood as a communicative vector of cultural meaning – so to speak – of living memory. The analysis then turns to an examination of select representative examples from diverse scenarios in the existence of the Teutonic Knights, thereby taking into account internal, public, and participatory contexts of symbolic moments. The study thus explores how, while rituals can commemorate memorialised events from the past, they are also able to enact the living memory of a collective entity, ultimately claiming that the examined symbolic acts exhibited both communicative and transformative potential.

“Here started the rift we see today”

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsafrir Goldberg ◽  
Dan Porat ◽  
Baruch Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Social Representation ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Melting Pot ◽  
Learning History ◽  
The Past ◽  
European Jewish ◽  
Contemporary Reality ◽  
The Individual

The story about the collective past, which is embedded in the students’ minds, may serve a significant role in learning history. The fit between students preconceived narratives and the official narrative in textbooks might considerably influence their ability to understand and use the official narrative as a cultural tool. 105 12th grade students wrote narratives about the Melting Pot policy in the absorption of the “Great Aliyah” (Mass immigration) to Israel in the 1950’s, a corner stone of Israeli collective identity. The students’ narratives were analyzed in order to identify overt opinions, and basic narrative characteristics, such as plot schemes, agency and recurrent themes. The narratives were compared to the central characteristics of the official narrative of the Great Aliyah mediated through history textbooks. Students’ dominant narrative stood in opposition to the textbooks narrative, putting forward a highly critical perspective of the immigration absorption. Additional findings show students of “Ashkenazi” (European-Jewish) origin to be significantly more critical towards the Melting Pot policy and it’s consequences for the Mizrahi Jews than students of “Mizrahi” (Arab-Jewish) origins. The authors seek to explain their findings within the framework of socio-cultural theory, as evidence of the students’ use of social representation of the past as a cultural tool for explaining a problematic present. The personal historical narrative seems to serve as a tool for positioning the individual in relation to the past and in constructing potentialities of responsibility to contemporary reality.

Studying Palestinian-Israeli Relations at the Vanderbilt Television News Archive (VTNA)

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-40
Author(s):  
Deborah L. Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Television News ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Media Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Shared Identity ◽  
P 16 ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Words And Images

For the Past Five Decades, media texts, broadcast over television air waves, have created a shared identity among viewing audiences. John B. Thompson notes that if culture is understood as “the ways in which meaningful expressions of various kinds are produced, constructed and received by individuals”, then mass media can be understood as central to the creation and maintenance of culture (pp. 122-23). The words and images that construct a media culture are the very building blocks of collective identity. As Michael Schudson observes, “news is part of the background through which and with which people think” (p. 16).

scholarly journals Contemporary understanding of the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth

2019 ◽  
pp. 313-325
Author(s):  
Borislav Grozdic ◽  
Valerija Dabetic
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Value System ◽  
National Integration ◽  
Common Value ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
Spiritual Community ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of

In the aggressive dominance of critical rational thinking over the mythical worldview, myth as a historical and effective force does not lose its actuality and importance, because myths often hide deeper messages than what history can offer. In such a social context, the significance of the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth - the commitment to the Heavenly Kingdom, as a lasting common value of the Serbian people, returns as a theme. In spite of its omnipresence, the opinion prevails that the myth belongs to the past, and if it is not yet obsolete, it certainly should be. The authors advocate the idea that myth, as a comprehensive experience of the world, and therefore the Kosovo myth as well, is a factor of national integration, a part of collective identity, and a common value system. Analysing the secular and spiritual understanding of the Kosovo myth, the authors point out the importance of the vivid memory of the prince Lazar?s commitment to the Heavenly Kingdom. For Christians, this represents the value and goal above all others and it forms the core of the Serbian historical consciousness and spiritual community. The paper shows that the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth is not understood or it is misunderstood nowadays, since the commitment to Kosovo is perceived as a call and an obligation to die for it. The authors conclude that the Kosovo myth is not a call to die in the war, on the contrary, it is a struggle for external and internal freedom, as well as for the highest values that are implied by the definition of the Heavenly Kingdom ? peace, love, honour, justice, dignity, and others.

scholarly journals Educar para una ciudadanía crítica: una investigación a partir de los usos y finalidades de la historia escolar

Panta Rei ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-237
Author(s):  
Néstor Banderas Navarro
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Teaching Position ◽  
Hybrid Teaching ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Didactic Strategies

En esta investigación se examinan los usos y finalidades de la historia en un instituto en relación a la formación ciudadana. El saber histórico tiene gran potencial crítico y permite adquirir criterios para actuar democráticamente. Se emplearán entrevistas semiestructuradas a dos docentes y cuestionarios y narrativas a su alumnado de 1.º y 4.º ESO. La investigación constata un posicionamiento docente híbrido, encontrando rasgos de modelos tradicionales en la enseñanza (el escaso tratamiento de temas controversiales), y críticos, como la creencia en el potencial transformador de la materia. En el alumnado se observarán posiciones objetivistas acerca del pasado, que conviven con ejemplos de mayor capacidad de agencia ante cuestiones actuales. La profundización en estrategias didácticas que aborden la educación política desde la historia redundará en la adquisición de habilidades y actitudes para vivir en democracia. This research examines the uses and purposes of history in a high school in relation to citizen training. Historical knowledge has great criticism potential and allows acquiring criteria to act democratically. Semi-structured interviews with two teachers and questionnaires and narratives will be used for students in 1st and 4th ESO. The research shows a hybrid teaching position, finding traits of traditional models in teaching (the scarce treatment of controversial topics), and critics, such as the belief in the transformative potential of the subject. In the students, objectivist positions about the past will be observed, which coexist with examples of greater agency capacity in the face of current issues. The deepening of didactic strategies that address political education from History will result in the acquisition of skills and attitudes to live in democracy.

scholarly journals Pokoleniowe różnice w artystycznym obrazowaniu doświadczenia totalitarnej przeszłości w czeskim teatrze najnowszym

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Sylwia Czachór
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Generational Differences ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
History And Memory ◽  
Black And White ◽  
The Past ◽  
Artistic Representations ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The Impact

Generational differences in artistic representations of the experience of totalitarian past in the new Czech theatre. The article presents an analysis of a number of Czech performances from the years 2007–2013 on the topic of the communist era and reflecting on the changes that have occurred over the past 25 years. Selected directors belong to three generations of artists: the ones already creating in the 1960s, the ones debuting just before or just after the Velvet Revolution and the ones beginning their career in 2000. The comparison of performances produced within a short time clearly shows the differences, both aesthetic and ideological, in the method of recognizing similar issues by the authors growing up in a completely different socio-political conditions. Works of the oldest generation, using conventional theatrical means, reveal the strongest judgmental tendencies, the need to show the ambiguous choices in black and white colors. The average generation contend with the legend of past years, asking difficult questions about the impact of the past on the shape of collective identity. The youngest generation, however, intentionally emphasize that their knowledge about communism is mediated, which encourages them to analyze the history and memory of their families in search of their own roots.Generační rozdíly v uměleckém zobrazování zkušenosti totalitární minulosti v nejnovějším českém divadle. Příspěvek obsahuje analýzu několika českých představení z let 2007–2013, jejichž tématem se stalo období komunismu a reflexe nad proměnami posledních 25 let. Vybraní režiséři patří ke třem generacím umělců:  jedni inscenovali dlouho před rokem 1989, druzí debutovali krátce po sametové revoluci, zatímco třetí zahájili kariéru v roce 2000. Soubor představení vzniklých v malém časovém rozpětí výrazně ukazuje jak estetické, tak světonázorové rozdíly ve způsobu uchopení podobné tematiky autory, kteří vyrůstali ve zcela odlišných společensko-politických podmínkách. Díla nejstarší generace pomocí konvenčních divadelních prostředků projevují nejsilnější tendence posuzovat a odsuzovat, nutnost ukázat nejednoznačné volby v černo-bílých barvách. Střední generace se poměřuje s legendami mi­nulých dob, pokládá obtížné otázky po vlivu minulosti na podobu kolektivní identity. Nejmladší tvůrci pak vědomě zdůrazňují, že jejich znalost komunismu je zprostředkovaná, což je vede k analyzování historie a rodinné paměti při hledání vlastních kořenů.  

About benefits and harms of rewriting history. One of the topics of contemporary historical discourses: philosophical analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol - (2) ◽  
pp. 142-164
Author(s):  
Roman Zimovets
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Identity Transformation ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
Historical Interpretation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rewriting History ◽  
Historical Discourses ◽  
Global Communications

When we talk about historical revisionism, negative connotations as a rule are prevailing. Prohibition of revision of certain historical interpretation and assessment is one of the tasks of historical policy which is carried out by adopting so-called «memorial laws». Taking care of the formation of the desired representations of the past (narratives) is directly related to the interests of institutionalized power in its own stabilization and strengthening. Power is a function of the community, whose identity is formed historically. Consolidation of collective identity through the support and reproduction of common representations of the past is one of the tools to strengthen power. At the same time, the very nature of human experience acquisition which is permanent mediation of the horizon of the past and the present, presuppose a reinterpretation of this past. Major shifts in the experience of generations, which occur as a result of certain social changes, lead to a new look at the past of the community. In this sense, rethinking and rewriting history becomes necessary to clarify, update, rationalize the collective identity, which is problematized by new experience. Historical policy can both respond to this need for identity transformation through re- thinking representations of one’s own past and come into conflict with it. In the latter case, the narratives transferring by institutional power begin to conflict with the communicative memory of the generation experiencing a shift. One of the tools of self-preservation of power in this situation is blocking of living historical experience, which can take various forms. The culmination of such a blockade is «hermetization» of historical time that take place in totalitarian state. The living historicity of experience, which requires a constant rethinking of one’s own historically inherited identity, is replaced by an artificial, time-frozen identity, which, precisely because of this nature, becomes fragile and doomed to destruction. On the other hand, the rewriting of history initiated by the authorities within the framework of historical policy may face resistance to the representations of the past rooted in the communicative and cultural memory. The resistance of historical narratives indicates that the collective memory and the identity founded in it are not only a power construct, but also a spontaneous layering of sediments of historical experience. In today’s world of global communications and unified everyday practices, historical narratives are beginning to play an increasing role, as they remain the only seat of identity. At the same time, this process reinforces the conflict potential of communities, which can be observed in many examples of the revival of historically motivated political ambitions. In this situation, a critical clarification of various interpretations of the past becomes a means of rationalizing the historically inherited identity of communities as a necessary condition for intercultural dialogue.

Moving Forward with an Eye on the Past

2017 ◽  
pp. 112-128
Author(s):  
Jerome C. Bush
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Research ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
First Century ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
New Models ◽  
Potential Benefits

Teacher research has become a well-known term in professional development circles, yet it is still often misunderstood. This chapter seeks to facilitate those who are interested in teacher research by providing a historical perspective. Understanding the development of teacher research over that past century will allow interested parties to move forward with greater insight of the potential benefits and drawbacks inherent in teacher research. Such an analysis may lead to increased success for teacher research projects as the twenty-first century unfolds. Although teacher research can be a challenging form of professional development, it has incredible transformative potential. It has the potential to enhance the entire profession of teaching as well as the knowledge, skills and abilities of individual teachers. A call is made for teachers and academics to move forward by forming an alliance to explore new models and methods of teacher research.

Postmodern Body Techniques: Some Anthropological Considerations on Natural and Postnatural Bodies

1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (s1) ◽  
pp. S95-S106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Body ◽  
Moral Value ◽  
Steroid Use ◽  
Body Building ◽  
The Past ◽  
Body Techniques ◽  
A Site

Debates concerning “the body,” embodiment, and corporeality have become increasingly central to cultural theory in the past decade. This article addresses the question of the “natural body” from the point of view of both traditional social theory (Marcel Mauss) and more recent arguments about the body as a site of enculturation. Why is the natural body preserved as a moral value within the realm of sport, while its limits are also pushed to “unnatural” extremes? By contrasting body building as sport (where anabolic steroid use is condemned) with reproductive body building (pregnancy, where steroid use is increasingly central), the paradoxical dimensions of the “(post)natural” body in sport are examined.

Existential Antagonisms: Boundary Work and the Professional Ideology of Turkish Industrial Designers

Design Issues ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali O. Ilhan ◽  
H. Alpay Er
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Boundary Work ◽  
Collective Consciousness ◽  
Professional Identities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Demarcation Line ◽  
Professional Ideology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Industrial Designers

Industrial design (ID) is a fairly young and largely unknown profession in Turkey. Although significant developments have taken place in the field of ID in the past 15 years, the scope of scholarly attempts to analyze the sociological meaning of designing in the Turkish context is extremely limited. We use boundary work and professional ideology as salient concepts for a sociological understanding the ongoing professionalization process of Turkish industrial designers, who are developing professional identities and striving for recognition in the larger culture. This paper relies on 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with key players (i.e., ideologues) of the Turkish ID scene to analyze these boundary-work processes. We found that the positive collective identity of Turkish industrial designers is built on a formulation of negative others. These negative others are ideological antagonists that are pushed to the “other” side of the demarcation line. Negative others are especially dominant in the professional ideology of Turkish industrial designers because the perceived threats from these antagonists shape the collective consciousness. However, the construction of these others is an ambivalent process in which they also become ideological “friends.” We also demonstrate that professional ideology plays a pivotal role in producing, reproducing, and legitimizing claims of professionalism.

Surviving through subculture: Finding undeath in psychobilly

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Kattari
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Culture Industry ◽  
Long Period ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Independence ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Mainstream Culture ◽  
Meaningful Role

While some scholars suggest that subcultures are a thing of the past, that we are living in a post-subcultural era, an ethnographic exploration of psychobilly shows that subcultures still play a meaningful role in contemporary society. Since its development in the early 1980s, psychobilly has uniquely blended punk, rockabilly and horror to express countercultural values and aesthetics. Like the groups studied by the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies in the 1960s and 1970s, the psychobilly subculture is characterized by consistent and distinct values and tastes, a shared sense of collective identity, committed involvement over a long period of time, and relative independence from the culture industry. By participating in this obscure but strongly defined subculture, psychobillies not only express their resistance to mainstream culture but also find strategies to manage and improve their lived experience. As a result of their committed subcultural involvement, psychobillies feel alive, or, rather, ‘undead’, a metaphor made all the more symbolic because of the subculture’s interest in a host of undead creatures. This article thus argues for continued application of subcultural theory to understand the significant meaning and impact of participation in non-conformist communities today.

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