Narratives Unbound

"An excellent addition to the existing literature on postsocialist historiography in eastern and southeastern Europe. A particular strength of the contributions is their coherence. This well-edited book will appeal not only to specialists of east central and southeastern European history and historiography but would also be an asset in classes dealing with collective memory and historiography in this region."—Slavic Review

"The historian's craft from the annus mirabilis (1989) to the fin-de-siecle is scrutinized by a team of young scholars from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria. Inspired by and atuned to a truly comparative agenda and methodology, these richly detailed and rigorously analytical surveys of the historical profession in the six post-communist countries provide an indispensable base for transregional and transnational comparisons and syntheses. A valuable and well-crafted volume that brings historiography to the center-stage and that, hopefully, will inspire similar endeavors not only across Europe but also in the newly emerging field of world history."—Maria Todorova

"To find itself and its way into the future, Europe needs to look at its past and at its historiography. This book closes a hurting gap in our knowledge of historical studies and of their public resonance in six countries from East Central and Southeastern Europe, usually overlooked by syntheses devoted to European historical studies. The editors and the authors provide abundant information on and thorough critical assessments of the way scholars from these EU newcomers research, understand, and represent their respective national histories after the dramatic turn of 1989. Thus, they significantly contribute to the articulation of a vision of Europe as a living unity of diverse and interactive pasts."—Jörn Rüsen

"This collection of studies of Eastern European historiography will be much welcomed by Western European and New World scholars. The coverage of the six countries treated is comprehensive, the issues clearly identified, and the scholarship impressive. Anyone interested in the problem of writing history in the wake of the Second World War in contested areas (and what areas were not?) will want to study this book. Antohi is an authoritative expert on historiography and one of the few theorists of history and history writing with a cosmopolitan perspective."—Hayden White