The Invention of the Jewish People

Change”: Discourse and Display in the Revolutionary Museum, 1793–1815’ shows that whereas the objects and paintings on display in the National Art Gallery testified to the Dutch government’s policy of creating a unified national state, the Musée central des Arts wanted to be a site of new beginnings, emphasising the visual quality of the works displayed. In the case of the National Art Gallery, the past was thus interpreted politically; in the case of the Louvre it was construed aesthetically. Yet, in both cases, history is made through the active participation of political and social groups who seek to create an identity and imbue the process with collective memory. This observation serves as a leitmotiv throughout the whole book and also returns in the last two papers by Stanislaw Tyzcka and by Chiara Bottici. In sum, the volume combines questions of European history with questions of memory and questions of identity and attends to the development, change and role of the memory and identity discourse in historical research. Its focus on the performative nature of history, memory and identity yields an appealing and valuable set of contributions. Moreover, the flourishing field of memory studies has prompted many scholars to research what memory means, how it influences our understanding of the past, and how history, identity and memory are related. For those wishing to learn more about how these phenomena intersect, Performing the Past: Memory, History, and Identity in Modern Europe comes highly recommended. Grounded in various disciplinary traditions and diverse national backgrounds, the essays collected in Performing the Past are wonderful studies showing the wide range of cultural practices through which Europeans configure their relation to the past. The volume presents an accessible and stimulating overview of studies in the field.