Contentious Memories

Looking Back at the GDR

• Author(s): Jost Hermand, Marc Silberman,
• Publisher: P. Lang
• Pages: 251
• ISBN_10: 082043843X
  ISBN_13: 9780820438436
  
• Language: en
• Categories: History / Europe / Germany , History / Modern / 21st Century , Literary Criticism / European / German , Political Science / General ,

Description:... Who is remembering the German Democratic Republic, and how do they go about it? This volume of «contentious memories» brings together essays and critical responses in a look back at three aspects of GDR studies. It presents an opportunity for self-reflection on German Studies' past and ongoing engagement with the GDR and post-unification transformations. It seeks to evaluate old questions and raises new ones concerning the historical knowledge of GDR culture and our interpretations of it. Finally, it examines blindspots and self-deceptions of the past as well as those forming all too quickly in the present. Characterized by a self-awareness and historical understanding that is often neglected in the current tendency to write of the GDR, this collection marks a milestone in the (re)assessment of GDR studies in North America.