History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness
Lucian Boia, University of Bucharest
"History and Myth represents one of the
most sophisticated archeologies in Romanian historiography,
past and present. With the insight of both the native
and the scholar, Romanian historian Lucian Boia nuancedly
presents and - without "demythologizing,"
as the author himself declares - deconstructs the Romanian
"imaginary" as a matter of myths expressed
in public and private, formal and informal discursive
spaces. The two Introductions to the first and second
Romanian editions that preface this volume are extremely
valuable since they (re)iterate the topic of the book
- "history as discourse" - and (re)contextualize
some newer myths of the late 1990s, which captured the
public eye after the first edition was issued.
... History and Myth offers a challenging perspective,
a clearly translated narrative, and an indispensable
analytical tool for scholars of Romania and of Eastern
European history and politics." - Slavic and
East European Journal
"...a happy event for those teaching Romanian
history in English... Boia writes with verve and the
translation reads well on the whole, making this study
of the axes ground by Romanian historians in the last
centuries not only informative, but fun to read."
- Patterns of Prejudice
"It is an extraordinarily interesting and provocative
work, one that, not surprisingly, provoked a huge firestorm.
As the author wryly notes, while contemporary Romanians
have no problem with castigating the presidents of post-1989
Romania, most shy away from criticizing medieval Romanian
princes and other historical heroes. ... excellent translation..."
- American Historical Review
"Boia's work has had a huge impact on Romanian
public opinion, and has triggered a serious rethinking
of the links between the nation, the nation-state, national
identity, history, and politics. On a more theoretical
level, his work is pioneering the integration of contemporary
Western scholarship on nationalism, deconstructivism,
postmodern history into the Romanian historigraphic
discourse." - Austrian Studies Newsletter
"The book is a 'must read' for anyone attempting
to unravel the sometimes conflicting 'histories' of
Romania. And even for Romanians themselves who feel
that their school history textbook was infallible and
presented the only true history of Romania." -
Amazon (customer review)
This book stems from the idea that there is a considerable
difference between real history and discourse history.
Boia 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.
2001
270 pages
ISBN 978-963-9116-96-2 cloth $49.95 / €42.95 /
£31.95
ISBN 978-963-9116-97-9 paperback $21.95 / €18.95
/ £13.95
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