Usable Pasts, Concer ted Forgettings
06 Sep - 25 Oct 2008
USABLE PASTS, CONCER TED FORGETTINGS
2008-09-06 until 2008-10-25
The group exhibition ‘Usable Pasts, Concerted Forgettings‘ explores perceptions of national and collective identities – particularly in relation to forms of collective or national cultural memory. Set against the backdrop of the unification of Europe and the post-9/11 situation, the debate in The Netherlands regarding a ‘blurring of national identity’ and citizens’ poor knowledge of their country’s history has intensified over the last years. The debate has resulted in the founding of not only a national historical canon, but also a national museum. The discussion on national identity and the
consequences are not an exclusively Dutch phenomenon; the debate takes place in the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and the U.S.A.
Maria Grever (Professor in Theory and Methodology of Social History) discusses these developments in relation to the fact that “throughout the debate two political agenda’s each play a role. On the one hand an ever-growing neo-nationalist call for the transfer of western and national values, and on the other a less strongly advocated supranational approach in which multiform and universal – not necessarily western – values play a central role (...). On the one hand there is a search for own identity, translated into the national history of individual countries, on the other there is the aim to understand broader societal developments outside one’s own cultural circle, the latter being expressed in a world historical approach.” Grever indicates a paradox between the recent emphasis on national identity and the constructed character of national traditions and historiography.
The exhibition, ‘Usable Pasts, Concerted Forgettings‘ focuses on the organization of collective cultural memory and the techniques that we use to preserve and present our recollections – thereby influencing the perception of (cultural) identity.
2008-09-06 until 2008-10-25
The group exhibition ‘Usable Pasts, Concerted Forgettings‘ explores perceptions of national and collective identities – particularly in relation to forms of collective or national cultural memory. Set against the backdrop of the unification of Europe and the post-9/11 situation, the debate in The Netherlands regarding a ‘blurring of national identity’ and citizens’ poor knowledge of their country’s history has intensified over the last years. The debate has resulted in the founding of not only a national historical canon, but also a national museum. The discussion on national identity and the
consequences are not an exclusively Dutch phenomenon; the debate takes place in the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and the U.S.A.
Maria Grever (Professor in Theory and Methodology of Social History) discusses these developments in relation to the fact that “throughout the debate two political agenda’s each play a role. On the one hand an ever-growing neo-nationalist call for the transfer of western and national values, and on the other a less strongly advocated supranational approach in which multiform and universal – not necessarily western – values play a central role (...). On the one hand there is a search for own identity, translated into the national history of individual countries, on the other there is the aim to understand broader societal developments outside one’s own cultural circle, the latter being expressed in a world historical approach.” Grever indicates a paradox between the recent emphasis on national identity and the constructed character of national traditions and historiography.
The exhibition, ‘Usable Pasts, Concerted Forgettings‘ focuses on the organization of collective cultural memory and the techniques that we use to preserve and present our recollections – thereby influencing the perception of (cultural) identity.