This book discusses the merits of the theory of agonistic memory in relation to the memory of war. After explaining the theory in detail it provides two case studies, one on war museums in contemporary Europe and one on mass graves exhumations, which both focus on analyzing to what extent these memory sites produce different regimes of memory. Furthermore, the book provides insights into the making of an agonistic exhibition at the Ruhr Museum in Essen, Germany. It also analyses audience reaction to a theatre play scripted and performed by the Spanish theatre company Micomicion that was supposed to put agonism on stage. There is also an analysis of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed and delivered on the theory of agonistic memory and its impact on the memory of war. Finally, the book provides a personal review of the history, problems and accomplishments of the theory of agonistic memory by the two editors of the volume.
Author(s): Stefan Berger, Wulf Kansteiner
Series: Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 277
City: Cham
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Photos
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Agonistic Perspectives on the Memory of War: An Introduction
References
Chapter 2: Agonistic Memory Revisited
Learning from the UNREST Case Studies: Mass Grave Exhumations
Learning from the UNREST Case Studies: War Museums
Conclusions
References
Chapter 3: The Production of Memory Modes During Mass Grave Exhumations in Contemporary Europe
Introduction
Intertwined Memory Modes in Spanish Exhumations
Poland’s Memory Modes in Disguise
Parallel Memory Modes in Contemporary Exhumations in Bosnia
Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 4: Memory Cultures of War in European War Museums
Introduction
Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne
The Kobarid Museum of the First World War
The German-Russian Museum in Berlin-Karlshorst
The Oskar Schindler Factory in Kraków
The Military History Museum in Dresden
In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres
Conclusion
References
Interviews
Websites Consulted
Chapter 5: “Krieg. Macht. Sinn.” An Agonistic Exhibition at the Ruhr Museum Essen
Introduction
The Ruhr Museum
Exhibition Concept
Agonistic Game
Methodology
Visitors’ Perception of Agonism
In Lieu of Conclusions. (Self-Critical) Theses on Agonistic Exhibitions
References
Chapter 6: ‘To Understand Doesn’t Mean that You Will Approve’: Transnational Audience Research on a Theatre Representation of Evil
Introduction
Historical Contexts
Methodology: Interviewing as a Performative Action
Assembling Responses: Ways of Engaging with Zoran
Analysis
Antagonistic Refusal
Cosmopolitan Universalism
Agonistic Unsettling of Fixed Identities
Perpetrator Discourse as Unsettling
Between Understanding and Justification
Contesting the Fictional Perpetrator and Proposing Alternatives
Conclusions: Modes of Interpretation
References
Chapter 7: Taking Agonism Online: Creating a Mass Open Online Course to Disseminate the Findings of the UNREST Project
Introduction
What Is a MOOC?
Agonism (and Antagonism) Online
Designing ‘How We Remember War and Violence: Theory and Practice’
Evaluating Learner Responses
Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Agonism and Memory
Introduction
The Origins of Agonistic Memory in Memory Studies
The Origins of Agonistic Memory in Political Philosophy
The Experience of UNREST with Agonistic Memory
Agonistic Memory Amidst Re-nationalization and De-cosmopolitization
References
Index
