Regioni plurilingue e frontiere nazionali

Rolf Petri (ed.): Regioni plurilingue e frontiere nazionali, Issue of «Memoria e ricerca», 15 (2004), Milano, Franco Angeli, ISSN 1127-0195, 99 pp.

The essays on the history of nationalisation of European border regions range from the early modern times to presence, from German-Polish to Italian-Slovenian and French boundary regions, involving historiography as well as anthropology. The authors point out that they can particularly well demonstrate the contingencies in (re-)construction processes of national, ethnic and linguistic identities. They show furthermore that ‘progress’ and ‘civilisation’ are frequently used, in Europe, as a legitimating tool of borderline drawing. National delimitation of territories shows however to be most of times imperfect. Previous and co-existent loyalties may be integrated to support national self-identification, but can not be prevented from persisting and living their own lives. In some cases, the gap between the imaginary and the political distribution of space between the Us and the Other shows to be resistant to all attempts of national propaganda and pedagogy. Borderlines are needed to re-assure the national Self in being existent and consistent. At the same time, they remember the Nation that her existence continues to be contingent, temporary, and open to further changes.

Autori: Valentina Bergonzi, Hans Heiss, Valentina Lapiccirella Zingari, Michael G. Müller, Rolf Petri, Thomas Serrier, Rolf Wörsdörfer.