Writing Russia: The Discursive Construction of AnOther Nation (Routledge Approaches to History) - Softcover

Dowling, Melissa-Ellen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1032003251 ISBN 13: 9781032003252

Publisher: Routledge, 2023

Synopsis

Writing Russia offers the first systematic analysis of Anglophone national histories of Russia. By deconstructing preeminent historical works on the history of Russia, this book provides insight into the hidden ideological underpinnings of the texts and their representations of Russia in the West. It demonstrates that historians employ a range of literary techniques to smooth over contradictions in their narratives of Russia, generating a seemingly cohesive depiction of Russia as a liminal, Other nation. This is a process that this book theorises as "discordus", representing an original conceptual framework for examining national history texts. It identifies patterns in the language and emplotment of Anglophone Russian histories across several defining historical epochs from the Mongol conquests to the Putin presidency, revealing the extent to which historians wield the narrative power to "make or break" nations. Postmodern in approach, the work pushes the boundaries of historiography and calls into question the nature of history.

About this title

About the Author

Melissa-Ellen Dowling is a research fellow at the University of Adelaide.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1032003251
• ISBN 13: 9781032003252
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 200