Late Enlightenment

Emergence of the Modern 'National Idea'
ISBN: 
978-963-7326-52-3
cloth
$100.00 / €90.00 / £79.00
Publication date: 
2006
361 pages

This volume represents the first in a four-volume series, a daring project by CEU Press which presents the most important texts that triggered and shaped the processes of nation-building in the many countries of Central and Southeast Europe. The series brings together scholars from Austria, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, the Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. The editors have created a new interpretative synthesis that challenges the self-centered and "isolationist" historical narratives and educational canons prevalent in the region, in the spirit of of "coming to terms with the past." 

The main aim of the venture is to confront 'mainstream' and seemingly successful national discourses with each other, thus creating a space for analyzing those narratives of identity which became institutionalized as "national canons." The series will broaden the field of possible comparisons of the respective national cultures.

Each text is accompanied by a presentation of the author, and by an analysis of the context in which the respective text was born.

Discourses of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe 1770–1945

Vol. I. Late Enlightenment

Vol. II. National Romanticism

Vol. III/1 Modernism
– The Creation of Nation States

Vol. III/2 Modernism
– Representations of National Culture 

Vol. IV. Anti-modernism 

Acknowledgments
General Introduction: Inter-texts of identity

Late Enlightenment – Emergence of the Modern ‘National Idea’

Introduction:
László Kontler: The Enlightenment in Central Europe?
Paschalis Kitromilides: The Enlightenment in Southeast Europe: Introductory considerations

Chapter I. The Transformation of Symbolic Geography

Ivan Lovrić: The customs of the Morlachs???
Iosipos Moisiodax: Apology
Daniil Philippidis and Grigorios Constantas: Novel geography
Johann Pezzl: Sketch of Vienna
Stanisław Staszic: On the statistics of Poland
Josef Dobrovský: Concerning the constant and enduring allegiance of the Slav peoples to the House of Austria
Dinicu Golescu: Account of my journey
Joakim Vujić: Characteristics of the Serbian people
Pashko Vasa: The truth on Albania and Albanians

Chapter II. Cultural and Historiographical Narratives of Identity

Joseph von Sonnenfels: On the love of Fatherland
Franciszek Salezy Jezierski: Some words, alphabetically ordered
Józef Wybicki: Dąbrowski Mazurka
Adamantios Korais: Report on the present state of civilization in Greece
György Bessenyei: Oration on the subject-matter of the country
Ján Hrdlička: The Slovak nation
Antonín Puchmajer: Ode on Jan Žižka of Trocnov
Petru Maior: The history of Romanian beginnings in Dacia
Ion Budai-Deleanu: The Gypsy epic
Ivan Seliminski: Letter to Georgi Zolotovich
İbrahim Şinasi: Odes

Chapter III. Creating an Enlightened National Public

Alois Blumauer: Observations on Austria’s Enlightenment and literature
Karel Thám: In defense of the Czech language
Dimitrios Katartzis: Advice to the youth
Dositej Obradović: Letter to Haralampije
Josip Voltić: A dictionary of the Illyrian, Italian and German languages
József Kármán: The refinement of the nation
Bernard Bolzano: Concerning the relations between the two peoples of Bohemia
Neofit Rilski. Bulgarian grammar
Partenij Zografski: Thoughts about the Bulgarian language
Naum Veqilharxhi: A preface to young Albanian boys

Chapter IV. Reform and Revolution: Formatting the Enlightened Polity

Joseph Richter: Joseph II’s Prayer-Book
József Hajnóczy: Letter to Miklós Forgách
Supplex Libellus Valachorum
The Targowica Confederation
Tadeusz Kościuszko: Połaniec manifesto
Alojzy Feliński: Hymn
Rigas Velestinlis: New political constitution
Patriarch Anthimos: Paternal instruction
Tomo Baseljić: Patriotic musings
Đorđe Petrović (Karađorđe): Letter to Petar Petrović Njegoš
Naum Râmniceanu: Important treatise
Mustafa Reşid Paşa: ??? The Gülhane Edict
Ivan Frano Jukić: Wishes and Pleas of Christians in Bosnia to Sultan Abdülmecid
Program of the Albanian League of Prizren

"Discourses of Collective Identity bietet eine eindrucksvolle Lektüre und sei auch solchen Lesern empfohlen, die sich jenseits der ostmittel-, südosteuropäischen Area Studies für Nationalismusforschung interessieren. Für jene Regionalstudien bedeutet er einen gewichtigen Versuch, das Feld für eine kritische Ideengeschichte zurückzugewinnen, nachdem besonders für Südosteuropa ethnologisch-anthropologische, kultur- und sozialgeschichtliche Fragestellungen in letzter Zeit eine dominierende Stellung einnehmen."
"This intelligently chosen and extremely useful anthology provides insight into the way narratives of national identity were shaped in the region noted in the book's title. Items include such richly varied materials as anthems, songs, constitutions, manifestos, novels, correspondence, autobiographical materials, and contemporary historical narratives. Each item is accompanied by information on the author and context as well as bibliographical material. Summing up: Highly recommended. All levels and libraries."
"The editors hope to overcome two tendencies. The first tendency is to treat the 'process of creating national identity in Central and Southeast Europe' as something exceptional. The editors very much reject the idea of studying these cultures only in terms of themselves. However, they also reject any notion of explaining these cultures by comparing them to an ideal Western type: 'we sought to abandon the 'Platonic' image dividing the continent in two ontologically incompatible worlds: the transcendent world of the Real - the Occident, and its ontologically inferior imitation - the Orient, the 'Remainder of Europe'. The editors of this series very much succeed in their attempt to get readers to look across national boundaries when studying the region. The multitude of languages required by any scholar to pursue cross-cultural comparisons in the region is no doubt a discouragement to many. By taking the time to provide the documents in English... more