Politics of History and Memory: Debating the Twentieth Century

4 ECTS course offered in the Winter term

Instructor: Constantin Iordachi

This course explores campaigns of historical politics centered on the history of the twentieth century waged by various state and non-state actors in the public sphere with the aim of reaching certain political aims. The emphasis is set on the multiple ways in which the history of World War II, of the Holocaust, and of communist regimes has been represented in local, national, and European museums in the post-1989 period. To this end, the course investigates various primary and secondary sources related to the history of the twentieth century, mainly museums, monuments, documentaries, artworks, political statements, and academic works. Special attention will be paid to the role of Memorial Museums as forums of public education but also as instruments of reconciliation and forms of transnational justice.