Becoming Historical
Cultural Reformation and Public Memory in Early Nineteenth-Century Berlin

This book examines the ways in which selfhood and cultural solidarity came to be understood and lived as historical identities during the 1800s. It examines the stages and conflicts in the process of 'becoming historical' through the works of prominent Prussian artists and intellectuals (Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Felix Mendelssohn, Jacob Grimm, Friedrich Karl von Savigny, Leopold von Ranke) who attached their personal visions to the reformist agenda of the Prussian regime that took power in 1840. The historical account of the evolution of analogous and inter-related commitments to a cultural reformation that would create communal solidarity through subjective identification with public memory is framed by the philosophical perspectives on historical selfhood provided by F. W. J. Schelling and his radical critics, Karl Marx and Søren Kierkegaard, thus drawing this story of building selves and communities in early nineteenth-century Berlin into debates about historical determined and contingently constructed identities.

Awards

• Winner, 2004 Hans Rosenberg Book Prize, Central European History Society

Reviews & endorsements

Review of the hardback: 'In Becoming Historical, John Toews provides a challenging and thought-provoking reworking of the cultural and intellectual history of Berlin in the early nineteenth century. The analysis Toews offers is sophisticated, subtle and perceptive, providing new perspectives both on the 'old chestnuts' of German intellectual history and on the cultural politics of nationhood. It will undoubtedly emerge as a key text on the cultural and intellectual history of this period.' English Historical Review

Customer reviews

Product details

• Date Published: May 2008
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521062985
• length: 492 pages

• dimensions: 229 x 152 x 26 mm
• weight: 0.724kg
• contains: 38 b/w illus.
• availability: Available