Construction of a Nation through Historical Representation - Essay Example

Construction of a nation through historical representation Student’s Name Course Tutor Date Question 3: How is the nation constructed through historical representation? Introduction Many world scholars and leaders have over the time spoken on the importance of history in nation building. Some of them such as the former British premier, Gordon Brown have advocated the general concern of the British government in relation to history’s place. For example, during his tenure he ordered a comprehensive review of how the British history could be strengthened by being included in the citizenship curriculum in institutions of learning so as to bolster national unity and national identity. The fundamental place of history as far as strengthening of national identity and unity is concerned has gained a lot of interest in the contemporary world. Thus attempts to hinge national identity on concepts of national history may be said to be as old as the modern examinations on existence of nations (Berger, 2007).The ideological proposition that a nation should have a proud history and that the same history in essence is the foundation of a country’s national identity has been central to many a construction as can be identified of Europe and the rest of the world. The relationship between history and contemporary life Considering the time when nationalism was strongly linked to various forms of democratic and liberalism ideas at the beginning of the nineteenth century Europe, most leaders and citizens preferred historiographic nationalism as the best tool for fighting absolutism and feudalism in order to uphold notions related to freedom and citizenship. By the end of nineteenth century, it was broadly evident that nationalism had become a preserve of the political right and going into the twentieth century it supported a host of authoritarian regimes across the European continent. It is in this aspect that the good and bad formations of nationalism in the early-nineteenth-century influenced the early-twentieth-century nationalism since the former was characterized by violence and xenophobic ideologies (Berge & Mycock, 2006). It is an obvious fact that it intensified nationalism that led to acts of genocide and war in what was termed as dark century of Europe. The atrocities made during the two world wars, the Holocaust and others were eventfully supported by numerous forms of historiographical nationalism. It is important to note that there were phases of European historiographic nationalism hence the emergence of a new understanding of historical documentations in the late eighteenth century as well as the emergence of the contemporary concept of nationalism in the French and American revolutions that occurred in the late-eighteenth century. It has been observed that towards the end of the eighteenth century, historian scholars of Enlightenment penned down national history with the fundamental aim of creating general trends as well as developments of the progress of human beings in national histories (Cornis-Pope, M. & Neubauer, J. 2010), On the other hand, Romantic national historians during the same period were overly concerned with pinpointing what was unique and specific about the development of every nation and how obvious the formation of national character has been molded through the years. In Europe, the years between the late 1800s and the early was the marking point in relation to historiographic nationalism, when national history was the most dominant way of history making in Europe. As evident, towards the end 1950s and beyond, other important forms of writing history grew in strength. The role of Historians in perpetuating the ideals of history According to Berger (2007), in most nations, the more ardent historians recognized their fundamental role in carrying forth the ideology of nationalism. It has been the cultural capital of the historians that has given many leaders to voice themselves on behalf of their nations. However, from the twentieth century, many historians in the western world decided to deliberate on the irony of the place of history in objectivity and national development. Elsewhere, history legitimated quite a number of movements that led to national liberation from imperialist and colonialist suffrage. In fact when historiographic nationalism was collapsing in Europe, there was celebration of new era in most parts of the world thus the national history of the west became a very significant symbol of Western imperialism. Role of religion, class and race histories in development of humanity Religion, societal classes as well as race histories have over the time been submerged and presumably put in the national histories. For example, religion gained popularity as the main determinant of the national politics in majority of the European nations, thus one may not be mistaken to think of Catholicism and the nation of Poland as well as Orthodoxy and many of the former Soviet Union states such as Russia (Berge & Mycock, 2006). Class history was often documented in a bid to look at the composition of the common man based on the notion of exclusion. Racial categories and prejudices have also found their place in history to forward the notion of alleged biological superiority of other people against others. Regional and local histories of many nations have been infused to portray and promote the need of belonging in relation to a national entity. Globally, it can be singled out that European histories have revolved on national histories of individual nations with more emphasis put on their ideologies. Owing to the continued strength being drawn from national history, it is eminent then that people such as politicians do not just embrace popular history for the sake of it, but for a worthy course so as to retain a degree of healthy skepticism. This is due to the more negative past marred with historiographical nationalism. As is the case in Europe, it can be said that the best advice from history in relation to politics is to delink themselves from building the national identity based on the shared past (Cornis-Pope, M. & Neubauer, J. 2010),Although many of the things that are decided by the political class in regard to governance and economic growth of nations are constructions of national histories, they have over the time resulted in exclusion as those who did not subscribe to them were not accommodated. Instead, history should help people such as the politicians to build platforms on alternative ways of building national identity for they have the ability to develop political and economic political projects that can bring people together to forge the way forward in their lives. For reasons of perpetuation of self-protection, history has been in the frontline to provide the mechanism of doing so. In fact, history is an important means of questioning established knowledge as well as criticism of traditions. But on the same note there are a host of influential propositions of avoiding history to become the determinant of national identity of a nation, thus in most instances some world leaders have assumed that a prosperous society can be build with relatively weak identities as opposed to those derived from the national past. Experience has shown that new approaches and methods that have helped man progress in the modern world have been a creation of national history. It is evident that the need to study history especially in Europe has proliferated in most institutions of learning and culture. Historical anthropology has over the years been involved in the investigation of the actual connection between the life worlds of people in the past and now. History as a springboard for spread of ideologies The emergence of women out of what has been widely publicized as the second wave of feminism in the 70s has been lauded to historical figuration of women as far as history is concerned. This has gradually led call for gender equality and soliciting for substantial attention in regard to the very ways of social order structuring by certain gender orders. The historical documentation of ill treatment of women in the past centuries has provided contemporary women with enthusiasm and ego to correct the social injustices. Many of the national histories have always portrayed the making of a nation by recognizing the distinct roles for both genders. History has all along provided an ambient ground for moral contemplation, thus studying the stories of situations and persons in the past enables an individual to test the level of moral sense by comparing them with some of the real contemporary life complexities that people face in the society. Nations that have weathered diverse forms of adversity have stood to be great source of inspiration. Knowledge of history therefore is imperative for gaining insight into the past to build a more decisive way of doing things in the modern world thus should provide lessons in constructivism. Preservation of historical events and to a greater extent sites generally encompass maintenance of integrity through restoration and protection. Even the world may be moving in a very fast pace; there are a lot of benefits to a nation when history can be revisited with ease. Nations have achieved revitalization and modernization of their national historical sources in an attempt to preserve the character in them. The national history of a nation is as rich as a minefield regardless of its positive and negative attributes as it is a focal point of reference for national reconstruction and steering of the present to the future. A nation can therefore not afford to neglect its national history (Berge & Mycock, 2006). Historical representation has a lot of bearing in the construction of the nation. Therefore, historical representation is of immense significance with regard to prosperity of a nation. How the history of nation is portrayed plays a very defining role in the way in which the nation is developed. This is due to the fact that the origin and heritage of a nation has its foundation in history. This is one of the reasons why most scholars opine that the correlation between the nation and history is integral to the building of the former. In any case, a country’s identity has its essence in its history. A nation’s history defines its identity and is very significant in the development of the unity and identity necessary for nation building. In fact, a better understanding of history is crucial towards the development of unity, patriotism and ultimate identity of a nation (Mycock et al, 2008). Image of a nation in regard to history Historical representation also correlates to the manner in which the history of a nation is portrayed. Basically, the way the history of a nation is depicted has a lot of significance on its overall development. As a matter of fact, history on its own is incapable of heralding any positive development of a nation. However, its depiction is of overall impact on the essential parameters of the development of the nation state. Hence, it is of great importance that a lot of caution is taken regarding the manner in which a nation’s history is portrayed. The relation involving history education procedures, in and out of educational institutions, and the development of national identities is currently an increasingly significant topic, being deliberated via the appropriation of chronological narratives, which are regularly founded on the authorized history of whichever nation state. In essence, historical representations of individual nation’s origin are great indicators of their development as well as the course to be taken. As a result, efforts are often out in place to ensure that schools and other institutions of learning take cognizance of the importance of historical representations in nation building. In reciprocation, these institutions develop curriculums around the first inhabitants of a nation state as well as their origin. Debates over the origin of nation states among students often open a window of opportunity for students to develop interest in their country (Cornis-Pope & Neubauer, 2010). In essence, historical representations portray the country in a way that heralds the development of nation identity on one hand and interest in nation building on the other. National history is implicit as a precise structure of historical representation which conveys the development of a nation-state, or endeavors to manipulate the existing self-descriptions of a national awareness. It builds up its perspectives and principle from the present-day self-understanding of the nation. The consistency of national historiographies is for the most part clearly exposed when taking into account a number of national histories grouped together. Historians scripting national account often consider activities in other countries. While traditionally and academically, history was ‘nationalized’ in the itinerary of its professionalization; historians simultaneously started thinking of themselves as being part of a single democracy of letters. Even all through periods when belligerent nationalism destroyed mutual academic liaisons, history scholars often stayed aware of other national schedules as well as publications. In general, only a comprehensive and comparative examination of the courses of building, stabilization and attrition of national accounts and broader historical representations will facilitate us to smooth the progress of the development of a real historical culture. Conclusion In conclusion, the significance of history in nation building when considered in the aspects understanding and explaining dynamics in human behavior and character is not just a simple abstraction. For example, in Germany the kind of television products streaming from many of the nation’s historians have a lot of national stories and themes which are also a norm across the European continent. The notion that a nation should fundamentally have a proud history that connects with the present cannot be overemphasized. Historically, the Romans as well as the Greeks left an endless legacy as a result of their rule in Europe that is profoundly evident in usage of language and ways of thinking. The origins and foundations of democracy can be traced back to Greek civilization that was based on city-states. Early civilizations were characterized by holding of forums to discuss and subsequently enact state policies and it is through historical documentations of such significant ancient democratic governance that modern democracies thrive on. References Berge, S & Mycock, A (2006), 'Europe and its National Histories', special issue of Storia della Storiografia 50. Berger, S (2007), Writing the Nation. A Global Perspective, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. Cornis-Pope, M. & Neubauer, J. (2010), History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe: Types and stereotypes. New York: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Mycock et al. (2008), Narrating the nation: representations in history, media, and the arts. Washington: Berghahn Books. Read More