Myths and Mythical Spaces: Conditions and Challenges for History Textbooks in Albania and South-Eastern Europe

Myths and Mythical Spaces: Conditions and Challenges for History Textbooks in Albania and South-Eastern Europe
ISBN-10
3737008116
ISBN-13
9783737008112
Pages
277
Language
English
Published
2017-12-04
Publisher
V&R unipress GmbH
Authors
Enriketa Pandelejmoni, Claudia Lichnofsky, Darko Stojanov

Description

This volume addresses textbooks written in the Albanian language and in use in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia. Political myths and mythical spaces play a key role in shaping processes of identity-building, concepts of ‘self’ and ‘other’, and ideas pertaining to the location of the self and nation within a post-conflict context. The Albanian case is particularly interesting because the majority of Albanians live outside the borders of Albania, despite the existence of the nation-state, which gives rise to fascinating complexities regarding the shaping of national identities and myths surrounding concepts of ‘self’ and ‘other’. What textbooks teach is always of political interest, as they represent society’s intentions for its next generation. This renders identity-building processes via textbooks in this context a particularly fascinating topic for research, here examined through the lens of myths and mythical spaces.