Suchergebnisse

Anhand von Ergebnissen eines von der European Science Foundation geförderten Projekts wird nach der Zukunft einer nationalgeschichtlichen Geschichtsschreibung gefragt. Der Verfasser diskutiert "Ingredienzien" der Nationalgeschichte im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert sowie ideologische und territoriale Konzepte, mit denen sich Nationalgeschichte gegen andere "Meistererzählungen" behaupten konnte. Nationalgeschichte als Infragestellung nationaler Identitätskonstruktionen wird als eine Möglichkeit der Renaissance der Nationalgeschichtsschreibung gesehen. (ICE2)

Early motherhood and caring for the infant involve a moral ambiguity that is related to the questions of responsibility and vulnerability. By means of the ethics of care, motherhood can be understood as belonging to the moral domain, as relational, and as linked with everyday social situations. The culturally dominant narratives of 'good mothering' easily naturalise and normatise maternal agency. This study illustrates the process of adopting responsibility for the infant and the moral ambivalence that is inscribed in early maternal care. The data consist of four interview sessions with each of seven first-time mothers conducted during pregnancy and the first post-natal year. The interviews concentrated on events, relationships, routines, thoughts and feelings related to the mothers' daily caring for the baby. The women talked about their experiences drawing on two different narratives. The narrative of desirable responsibility unfolded the positive aspects of caring and responsibility for the baby. By means of this narrative, the women were able to give coherence to their lives as new mothers and to narrate the pleasure they felt in taking responsibility for their baby. In contrast, the narrative of maternal vulnerability showed the shadow side of maternal care focusing on the mothers' tiredness and distress. This narrative embodied 'moral monitoring' and 'epistemological struggles' between the dominant cultural narratives and the mothers' personal narratives. The study shows that early mothering is morally laden in two different ways simultaneously. Mothering itself is a moral disposition and practice characterised by ambivalence. The cultural narratives of 'good mothering' play a dual role in this process: they tempt women into pursuing intensive mothering, but at the same time they create an elusive moral imperative.

Examines German debates over how to correctly narrate & preserve Buchenwald in the broader context of collective memory, historical narrative, & national identity. It is argued that Buchenwald not only demonstrates the difficulties of historical preservation, but also is a symbol of current German struggles with memory & national identity. The search for a shared German national narrative during the Wende of 1989/90 is discussed. The difficulties created by the Federal Republic of Germany's "double past," each with a different memory of communism & Nazism, are described. The historical usage of Buchenwald as a concentration camp, Soviet internment camp, & place of East German national mythology is analyzed as an example of these difficulties. Efforts to reconcile these multiple pasts are assessed. It is concluded that the controversy over Buchenwald represents the persistence of Germany's recent past & the political implications of historical narration in its future. T. Arnold

Qualitative research aims at unwrapping the ordinary and the exceptional in order to bring us closer to a complete description and interpretation of life. People's narratives are particularly effective in revealing deeper dimensions of experience and of meaning. Narratives always need to be read against the background of the empirical reality in which they are embedded. Most of the narratives referred to in this article are situated against the empirical reality of South Africa as a society in transition, still marred by inequality and inequity. One narrative, from a project conducted in the Czech Republic, shares some contextual characteristics with the South African examples—the Czech Republic is also a society in transition, previously employing institutional violence to suppress political dissent.
An important aspect when dealing with intense political and social transformation is the presence of highly charged feelings and emotions. As part of the contextualization for this article I briefly argue that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1996-1998) in many ways did the groundwork for a new appreciation of the sharing of emotional accounts and revelations pertaining to atrocities, injustices, and suffering. This Commission's work prepared the way for recognition of the potential of such sharing to create a better understanding of the experience of life in a deeply divided context.
In the article, I argue for the establishment of a social encounter—a concept frequently used in the micro-sociological writings of Randall Collins—between researcher and research participant in an attempt to come to deeper levels of understanding. During episodes of emotional sharing of experiences and feelings a research participant often reveals deeper levels of social interaction—these revelations have the potential to open the way for a hermeneutical process towards understanding. Dramatic recall can lead to reconstructing a story that contains all the elements of what was originally heard, seen, and felt.
The article uses five examples of narratives containing moments of high levels of emotion—each example opening the way for better understanding of the experiences of the research participants.

Qualitative research aims at unwrapping the ordinary and the exceptional in order to bring us closer to a complete description and interpretation of life. People's narratives are particularly effective in revealing deeper dimensions of experience and of meaning. Narratives always need to be read against the background of the empirical reality in which they are embedded. Most of the narratives referred to in this article are situated against the empirical reality of South Africa as a society in transition, still marred by inequality and inequity. One narrative, from a project conducted in the Czech Republic, shares some contextual characteristics with the South African examples—the Czech Republic is also a society in transition, previously employing institutional violence to suppress political dissent.An important aspect when dealing with intense political and social transformation is the presence of highly charged feelings and emotions. As part of the contextualization for this article I briefly argue that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1996-1998) in many ways did the groundwork for a new appreciation of the sharing of emotional accounts and revelations pertaining to atrocities, injustices, and suffering. This Commission's work prepared the way for recognition of the potential of such sharing to create a better understanding of the experience of life in a deeply divided context.In the article, I argue for the establishment of a social encounter—a concept frequently used in the micro-sociological writings of Randall Collins—between researcher and research participant in an attempt to come to deeper levels of understanding. During episodes of emotional sharing of experiences and feelings a research participant often reveals deeper levels of social interaction—these revelations have the potential to open the way for a hermeneutical process towards understanding. Dramatic recall can lead to reconstructing a story that contains all the elements of what was originally heard, seen, and felt.The article uses five examples of narratives containing moments of high levels of emotion—each example opening the way for better understanding of the experiences of the research participants.

Qualitative research aims at unwrapping the ordinary and the exceptional in order to bring us closer to a complete description and interpretation of life. People's narratives are particularly effective in revealing deeper dimensions of experience and of meaning. Narratives always need to be read against the background of the empirical reality in which they are embedded. Most of the narratives referred to in this article are situated against the empirical reality of South Africa as a society in transition, still marred by inequality and inequity. One narrative, from a project conducted in the Czech Republic, shares some contextual characteristics with the South African examples—the Czech Republic is also a society in transition, previously employing institutional violence to suppress political dissent. An important aspect when dealing with intense political and social transformation is the presence of highly charged feelings and emotions. As part of the contextualization for this article I briefly argue that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1996-1998) in many ways did the groundwork for a new appreciation of the sharing of emotional accounts and revelations pertaining to atrocities, injustices, and suffering. This Commission's work prepared the way for recognition of the potential of such sharing to create a better understanding of the experience of life in a deeply divided context. In the article, I argue for the establishment of a social encounter—a concept frequently used in the micro-sociological writings of Randall Collins—between researcher and research participant in an attempt to come to deeper levels of understanding. During episodes of emotional sharing of experiences and feelings a research participant often reveals deeper levels of social interaction—these revelations have the potential to open the way for a hermeneutical process towards understanding. Dramatic recall can lead to reconstructing a story that contains all the elements of what was originally heard, seen, and felt. The article uses five examples of narratives containing moments of high levels of emotion—each example opening the way for better understanding of the experiences of the research participants.