History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness

Lucian Boia

• Editorial: Central European University Press
• Año: 2001
• ISBN:
  9789633860045
• Categoría: History
• Categoría: Eastern European History

There is a considerable difference between real history and discourse history - this book stems from this idea. The author points out that history is constantly reconstructed, adapted and sometimes mythified from the perspective of the present day, of present states of mind and ideologies. Boia closely examines the process of historical culture and conscience in nineteenth and twentieth century Romania, particularly concentrating on the impact of the national ideology on history. Based upon his findings, the author identifies several key mythical configurations and analyses the manner in which Romanians have reconstituted their own highly ideologized history over the last two centuries.

The strength of History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness lies in the author's ability to fully deconstruct the entire Romanian historiographic system and demonstrate the increasing acuteness of national problems in general, and in particular the exploitation of history to support national ideology.

Índice

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Three Years on: an Intordution to the Second Romanian Edition
• The Story of a book
• Demythologizing?
• Eminescu
• Interwar years and Communist Period
• The Kosovo Syndrom
• We are a Nation, not an Orthodox nation
• The Federalist "Threat "
• From the "Geto-Dacians" to the "Medieval Romanian Nation"
• Opinion Polls
• The Textbook Scandal
• What I belive
• Intoduction to the First Edition
• CHAPTER ONE: HISTORY, iDEOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY
• The First Entry into Europe
• Nationalism and Modernization
• A National Myth: Michael the Brave
• Different Projects, Different Histories
• The Glorification of the Past
• From Romanticism to the Critical School
• The Junimist Paradign: Detachment from History
• The Autochtonist Reaction
• Impossible Objectivity
• Communist Discourse: The Anti-national Phase
• Communist Discourse: Recovering the Past
• Communist Discourse: The Exacerbation of N ationalism
• CHAPTER 2: ORIGINS
• Some Principles
• Roman Times
• Dacians and the Romans: A Difficult Synthesis
• The Dacians get their Own Back
• Class Struggle in Dacia
• The Dacian Movement of Communism
• The Slavs as Oscillationg Presence
• The Nation: Biological Organism or Social Community?
• CHAPTER 3: CONTINUITY
• A Historiographical Paradox: the Area The Area where the Romanian People were Formed
• North and South of the Danube: A Possible Compromise?
• The Consolidation of Romanity North of the Danube
• The Communist Years: Ideological Imperatives and Archeological Arguments
• The Romanian State during the "Dark Millenium"
• Conclusions: Archeology, Linguistics and Politics
• CHAPTER 4: UNITY
• Transylvanians, Wallachians, Moldavians... or Romanians?
• Rivers and Mountains
• Historical Unity: Ebb and Re-elaboration
• Communism: the Myth of Unity at its Zenith
• In Rearch of Romanian Soul
• A Fluid Synthesis
• CHAPTER 5: THE ROMANIANS AND THE OTHERS
• "He to Whom Foreigners are Dear..."
• Defenders of the West
• Separation from the East
• The French Myth
• The German "Countermyth"
• Communist Mythology
• Post-revolutionary Reference Points
• Three Sensitive Files: The Gypsies, the Hungarians, and the Jews
• Friend and Opponents: A Historical Game
• The Plot against Romania
• The Imperial Temptation
• Competing Rights: Nations, Borders, Minorities
• The Fourth World Power
• What the "Others" Say about the Romanians
• CHAPTER 6: THE IDEAL PRINCE
• Heroes and Saviors
• The Composition of the national Pantheon
• Death to the Boyars:The File on Ioan Voda
• "Why Do You Not Come Back, Lord Tepes...?"
• The Dynastic Myth
• A Second Dynasty?
• Feminine Mythology: Queen Mary
• Interwar Saviors
• Legionary Mythology
• From Balescu to Gheorghiu-Dej
• From Buerbista to Ceausescu
• CHAPTER 7: AFTER 1989
• Rupture or Continuity?
• Always United?
• The Methodology of Forgetting
• The Freedom to Say Anything
• A Momnet Which We Must Get behind Us: Mythological Blockage
• CONCLUSION
• NOTES
• SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
• GLOSSARY
• INDEX