Conflicted Pasts and National Identities: Narratives of War and Conflict edited by Michael Böss, Director of the Canadian Studies Centre at Aarhus University, is the 6th volume in their MatchPoints series of themed academic essay anthologies, this installment about the role that cultural memories of war and conflict have in shaping society, as grievances may be passed down throughout the generations, or not, free courtesy of the Aarhus University Press in Denmark.
This is their English-language Free Book of the Month selection for October. The essays in this book cover local and global conflicts (if you're especially interested in Australia and/or WWI/WWII, there are 4 pieces total which are on the subject of one or both, plus the expected Scandinavian bits) which not only include war, but also workers' strikes, both in recent time as well as as far back as the 17th century (with a little historiography thrown in).
Currently free throughout October directly @
the university's dedicated promo page (DRM-free PDF available worldwide), and you can read more about the title on its
regular catalogue page.
Description
War and conflicts have always played a significant role in defining national identities, often with reference to events that happened centuries ago. The role of passing on collective memories of these types of events has become even more complex in a globalizing world, where new configurations of cosmopolitan memories challenge more locally and nationally based memories. The many aspects of societies' remembering and forgetting call for interdisciplinary studies.
Conflicted Pasts and National Identities. Narratives of War and Conflict reflects this effort. With reference to current theories of cultural memory, it explores how memories of war and conflict are passed on from generation to generation, how these complex processes have transformed and shaped collective identities, and how they still inform national "conversations".