Ethos of History

Stefan Helgesson is Professor of English at Stockholm University. He is the author of Writing in Crisis: Ethics and History in Gordimer, Ndebele and Coetzee (2004) and Transnationalism in Southern African Literature (2009), has edited volume four of Literary History: Towards a Global Perspective (2006), and is co-editor (with Pieter Vermeulen) of Institutions of World Literature: Writing, Translation, Markets (2015).

“With eleven engaging and well-written chapters, The Ethos of History offers a substantial contribution to contemporary debates about the role of history in our present cultural condition. A diverse group of writers, from junior researchers to established scholars such as Joan W. Scott, Aleida Assman and Hans Ruin, bring a wealth of thoughtful perspectives from philosophy, gender studies, literary and cultural theory.” • Philosophy of History“This volume offers much and important food for thought by describing the variety of the historical-theoretical debate and pointing out numerous open questions. It suggests focusing especially on concepts of time as well as ontological and epistemological uncertainty in historical thinking and perhaps to learn to appreciate these.” • Geschichte für Heute“This well-written volume offers plenty of material for cultural and literary studies as it explores how to live with the past, and how the past lives in us.” • Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen, University of Oulu, Finland“This book is very useful for understanding the relationship between ethos and temporality. In showing how ethical questions blur the boundary between past, present, and future, it represents an important contribution to the literature.” • Harry Jansen, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: The Ethos of HistoryStefan Helgesson and Jayne SvenungssonChapter 1. Towards a New Ethos of HistoryAleida AssmannChapter 2. The Vampire, the Undead and the Anxieties of Historical ConsciousnessClaudia Lindén and Hans RuinChapter 3. History, Justice and the Time of the ImprescriptibleVictoria FareldChapter 4. Narrating Pasts for Peace? A Critical Analysis of Some Recent Initiatives of Historical Reconciliation through ‘Historical Dialogue’ and ‘Shared History’Berber BevernageChapter 5. Psychoanalysis and the Indeterminacy of HistoryJoan W. ScottChapter 6. Does Time Have a Gender? Queer Temporality, Anachronism, and the Desire for the PastKristina FjelkestamChapter 7. ‘The One Who Should Die Is the One Who Shall Live’: Prophetic Temporalities in Contemporary Colonial BrazilPatricia LorenzoniChapter 8. Radical Time in (Post)Colonial NarrativesStefan HelgessonChapter 9. Engaged HistoryMarcia Sá Cavalcante SchubackChapter 10. Speakers for the Dead: Digital Memory and the Construction of IdentityAlana M. VincentChapter 11. History Begins in the Future: On Historical Sensibility in the Age of TechnologyZoltán Boldizsár SimonAfterwordHans RuinIndex