Introduction: Understanding Diverse Uses of Painful Pasts. A Plea for Conscious Normativity

In oduc ion Dennis Die ks* In oduc ion: Unde s anding Di e se Uses o Pain ul Pas s. A Plea o Conscious No ma i i y h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/iph-2022-2030 Keywo ds: di icul pas s, sha ed au ho i y, sha ing au- ho i y, ci izen science, conscious no ma i i y The h ee case s udies o his special sec ion add ess an issue ha isundoub edlya heco eo hee hicso Public His o y: he ques o democ a ize his o y. They app oach a p oblem ha has conce ned Public His o y om i s e y beginnings in he 1970s when, inspi ed by social and poli ical ac i ism such as he ci il igh s mo emen o he s uden p o es s o he 1960s in he Uni ed S a es, public his o ians s a ed o e hink he way his o ical knowledge is c ea ed. 1 This c i ical eflec ion e e ed o h ee cen al poin s ha a e s ill ele an oday. Fi s , he ole his o iog aphy and o he modes o e- memb ance played in ep oducing he g and na a i es o Wes e n supe io i y, ace, gende , and bou geois eli ism was c i ically ques ioned, o hese na a ions sys ema i- cally excluded and de alued he his o ical expe iences o la ge popula ion g oups all a ound he wo ld. This chal- lenged he discipline which a he ime was s ill unde he spell o nine een h-cen u y models o elling his o y as he endea o o he no o ious g ea whi e men. Black Li es Ma e and he ongoing c i ical eassessmen o Eu opean colonial his o y show ha his p ocess is a om being concluded. The second conce n is he place o academic his o y in socie y and he way p o essional his o ians commu- nica ed wi h he b oade public. And inally, hi dly, he e is he ques ion o how his o ical knowledge is p oduced and ep oduced. This p ocess has ne e been comple ely monopolized by academic schola s o s a e- d i en ins i u ions and –especially wi h ega d o he implemen a ion o poli ics o ememb ance in e e yday li e –has always elied on nego ia ion wi h local audi- ences. Howe e , he p i ileged ole o academic his o- ians canno be o e s a ed. They ac ed (and s ill ac ) as expe s, defining he ules o knowledge p oduc ion and deciding whom o coop in hei communi y o expe s. This p i ilege was now and is s ill being ques ioned by Public His o y. This las poin ouches upon he undamen al issue o how knowledge is gene a ed and sha ed in a socie y. The dimensions o his p oblem become mo e appa en when we ake a s ep back and in eg a e in o he a gumen e- lec ions om he sociology o knowledge. Since he la e nine een h cen u y, when sociological sel - e lec ion on he condi ions o mode ni y began, mode n socie ies ha e been desc ibed as being cha ac e ized by a g owing unc- ional di e en ia ion. This unc ional di e en ia ion has been he esponse o an inc easingly complex wo ld in whichin o medac ionisonlypossibleon hebasiso p o essionaliza ion and expe ise. Science, as he Ge man sociologis Niklas Luhmann desc ibes i in his amous ‘Sys em Theo y,’has become one o hese unc ional sys ems. 2 I is his unc ional sys em and he habi us 3 and u h egimes 4 i ep oduces o which Public His o y usually e e s as he i o y owe om which academic his o ians should descend. Such conside a ions om he ield o he sociology o knowledge migh help us o unde s and how challenging he ques o democ a izing his o y is. In a complex socie y, unc ional di e en ia ion canno simply be unmade, as i is based on in ellec ual expe iences ha , a bes , can only be *Co esponding au ho : Dennis Die ks, Depa men o His o y, Uni e si y o Jena, Jena, Ge many, E-mail: dennis.die [email protected] 1Fo a his o iciza ion o Public His o y bo h as a mo emen and an academic discipline, see Thomas Cau in, Public His o y: A Tex book o P ac ice (New Yo k: Rou ledge, 2016), 2–9. 2Niklas Luhmann, The Di e en ia iono Socie y, ans.S ephenHolmes and Cha les La mo e (New Yo k: Columbia Uni e si y P ess, 1982); Niklas Luhmann, Social Sys ems, ans. John Bedna z, J . (S an o d, CA: S an o d Uni e si y P ess, 1995); Niklas Luhmann and Ke s in Behnke, “The Mode ni y o Science,”New Ge man C i ique 61, no. 1 (Special Issue on Niklas Luhmann, 1994): 9–23. 3Fo he analy ical concep o habi us, see Pie e Bou dieu, Dis inc- ion: A Social C i ique o he Judgemen o Tas e (Camb idge, M.A.: Ha a d Uni e si y P ess, 1984). 4Michel Foucaul , Discipline and Punish: The Bi h o he P ison, ans. Alan She idan (New Yo k: Vin age Books, 1977). In e na ional Public His o y. 2021; 4(2): 85–88 Open Access. © 2022 Dennis Die ks, published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License. pa ly sha ed wi h non-expe s, bu ne e ully ep oduced by hem. This asymme ic powe s uc u e be ween expe s and non-expe s canno be comple ely o e come, unless he asymme y o expe ience is o e come. Tha is, unless non-expe s become expe s hemsel es. On he o he hand, he p oblems associa ed wi h he p ocess o unc- ional di e en ia ion h ough p o essionaliza ion a e ob ious: as hey do no con o m o he equi emen s o being an expe , people who a e iden i ied as non-expe s a e excluded om he p ocess o academic knowledge p oduc ion. Besides ha , mode n socie ies a e knowledge socie ies, which means ha knowledge p oduced by expe s shapes he e e yday li e o he much b oade g oup o non-expe s – o en in a undamen al way, as he cu en COVID-19 pandemic d as ically shows. A he same ime, epis emolog- ical cons uc i ism has adically challenged he no ion o objec i i y in which scien ific au ho i y and he au ho i y o expe s ha e adi ionally been based. Resea ch, as Thomas S. Kuhn has al eady a gued in his seminal 1962 s udy “The S uc u e o Scien ificRe olu ions,” elies on pa adigms, on modeshow osol ep oblems ha a eexposed o empo al change. 5 Wha is mo e, explo a ions in o he sociology o knowledge ha a e inspi ed by Da id Bloo ’s g oundb eaking in e en ion “Knowledge and Social Image y”ha e demon- s a ed ha scien ific a gumen a ion is always loca ion- bound. 6 Tha is, i depends – o a ian deg ees –on indi- idual biog aphical expe iences, no ma i e wo ld iews, and ex a-scien ific goals pu sued by academics when pa ici- pa ing in scien ific discou se. This also has been eloquen ly shown o he case o academic his o y. 7 All hese a e sensible easons o ques ion he monop- oly o expe s in he ield o knowledge p oduc ion and o emind hem o hei social esponsibili y owa d he g oup o non-expe s. Wi h ega d o his o y, he e is s ill ano he impo an a gumen : schola s e lec ing on he an h opo- logical dimensions o his o ical hinking ha e a gued ha he ques o his o ical o ien a ion is no limi ed o hose dealing p o essionally wi h he pas . They helped o c ea e an awa eness ha all people a e his o ical beings c ea ing “a meaning ul ela ion wi h he pas ” 8 and looking o o ien a ion in ime. This is echoed by Je ome de G oo ’s assessmen ha e e y pe son has a mo e o less de eloped unde s anding o wha he pas means o him o he , which his o y is o shall be, which esul s in di e en o ms o indi idual and collec i e engagemen wi h his o y as well as he exis ence o ma ke s on which di e se imaginings o he pas a e aded and consumed. 9 While sound easons can be gi en as o why, in a democ a ic and sel - e lec ing socie y, expe s should be awa e o hei ci ic esponsibili ies and show espec o he needs, expe iences, and compe ences o non-expe s, explo ing ields o collabo a ion be ween expe s and non- expe s s ill ep esen s a majo challenge. In science his has been discussed unde he label o ci izen science. 10 Wi hin he concep ual body o Public His o y, pa icipa o y app oaches a e usually add essed as sha ing o sha ed au ho i y, which bo h eflec s he concep s o academic ci izens (i.e. academic p o essionals dedica ed o commu- ni y engagemen ) and ci izen scien is s (i.e. people om he gene al public engaging in scien ific wo k, o en collabo a ing wi h academic scien is s). 11 Tex books on Public His o y poin o he po en ial o he in ol emen o pa icipan s om ou side he academy, as “mul iple oices enhance he di e si y in his o ical na a i es,” 12 bu a he same ime emphasize ha he gene ally accep ed s anda ds o scien ific knowledge p oduc ion mus also apply in such cons ella ions. This is desc ibed as he pa icula challenge o p oducing his o ical knowledge by sha ing au ho i y. 13 The con ibu ions o his special sec ion aim a un- de s anding hese challenges om an empi ical poin o iew. Wi h he memo y o pain ul expe iences o he pas , hey ocus on an issue whe e app oaches associa ed wi h sha ed au ho i y a e o pa icula impo ance since hey can empowe ic ims o speak o hemsel es and gi e 5Thomas S. Kuhn, The S uc u e o Scien ific Re olu ions (Chicago: Uni e si y o Chicago P ess, 1962). 6Da id Bloo , Knowledge and Social Image y (London: Rou ledge & Paul, 1976). 7Ch is Lo enz, “His o ical Knowledge and His o ical Reali y: A Plea o ‘In e nal Realism’,”His o y and Theo y 33, no. 3 (1994): 297–327. 8Jö n Rüsen, E idence and Meaning: A Theo y o His o ical S udies (New Yo k: Be ghahn Books, 2017), 13. 9Je ome de G oo , Consuming His o y: His o ians and He i age in Con empo a y Popula Cul u e (London: Rou ledge, 2009). 10 Fo heongoingdiscussionon hisapp oachsee hejou nal Ci izen Science: Theo y and P ac ice ha has been published by he Ci izen Science Associa ion since 2016; o a concep ualiza ion o Public His o y as ci izen science, see Co d A endes, “His o ike als ‘Mi le zwischen den Wel en’? P oduk ion, Ve mi lung und Rezep ion his o ischen Wissens im Zeichen on Ci izen Science und Open Science,”Heidelbe ge Jah büche Online 2 (2017): 19–58. doi: 10.17885/heiup.hdjbo.2017.23691. 11 See he defini ions o “ci izen science”and “ci izen scien is ”in he Ox o d English Dic iona y, h ps://www.oed.com/, accessed No embe 23, 2021. 12 Cau in, Public His o y, 216. 13 Cau in, Public His o y, 216–29; Da id Dean, “In oduc ion,”in A Companion o Public His o y, ed. Da id Dean (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2018), 1–11; Che s in M. Lyon, Elizabe h M. Nix, and Rebecca K. Sh um, In oduc ion o Public His o y: In e p e ing he Pas , Engaging Audiences (Lanham: Rowman and Li lefield, 2017), 1–19. 86 D. Die ks silenced memo ies new oice. Beyond ha , dealing wi h he li ing memo ies o iolence and wa equi es a p o- ound sensi i i y, which can only be de eloped in empa- he ic con e sa ion wi h he ic ims hemsel es. Fi s d a s o he con ibu ions we e p esen ed a a con e ence 14 o ganized by he Jean Monne Ne wo k o Applied Eu opean Con empo a y His o y. A cen al goal o his ne wo k p ojec , which was unded by he Eu o- pean Union, was o app ecia e and unde s and he di- e si y o Public His o y p ac ices wi hin Eu opean socie ies aced wi h add essing pain ul pas s. 15 The ques ion o how his o ical knowledge is p oduced was a he cen e o i s conside a ions. Wi h i s openness o bo h in e disciplina y and ansna ional app oaches, he ne wo k b ough oge he p ac i ione s and schola s om Bosnia-He zego ina,Belgium,Ge many,Poland,Se bia and o he pa s o Eu ope and he wo ld wi h back- g ounds in his o y, poli ical science, cul u al s udies, as well as social and cul u al an h opology. 16 The ne wo k’s in e disciplina y app oach is also e- lec ed in his special sec ion. I s con ibu ions ackle he ques ion o democ a izing his o y om di e en angles by analyzing examples in ecen his o y and he p esen . Focusing on he wo k o he commi ee o inqui y se up by he Belgian Pa liamen o in es iga e he in ol emen o Belgian poli ics in he mu de o Pa ice Lumumba (1925–61), Geo gi Ve beeck’s case s udy is conce ned wi h he complex in e play be ween social expec a ions, he poli ics o he pas , and academic his o iog aphy. Ve - beeck shows how engaged his o iog aphy and he public deba e i p o oked c ea ed a social clima e in which callswe emade o ac i ical eapp aisalo Belgium’s long-supp essed iolen colonial pas . The change o go e nmen in 1999 gene a ed he condi ions o hese demands o be aken up by he new cen e -le majo i y. E en hough he newly es ablished commission o his o- ians demons a ed Belgium’s p oblema ic ole in he Congo, due o a lack o w i en e idence i e ained om naming pe pe a o s wi hin he poli ical eli e and he Belgian oyal amily. Howe e , his was p ecisely wha la ge pa s o he public expec ed he commission o do. These di e ging expec a ions a es o, Ve beeck a gues, “ he p eca ious ole o he his o ian as media o be ween academic schola ship and he wide public.” P esen ing a local his o y s udy, Soňa Mikulo á’s con ibu ion shows how memo y ac i ism coming om ou side impac ed WWII ememb ance in a Ba a ian illage. Mi enwald, whe e a monumen al memo ial o WWI and WWII was e ec ed in 1957, became he home o an annual commemo a ion o allen soldie s o he Moun ain T oops du ing which e e ans o he Second Wo ld Wa , membe s o he Ge man a med o ces, ep esen a i es o he Ba a ian go e nmen , and local poli icians ook pa . In 2002, ac i - is s launched a campaign o d aw a en ion o he silenced wa c imes he Moun ain T oops had commi ed in I aly and Sou heas e n Eu ope du ing WWII. Thei ac i ism was me wi h conside able esis ance wi hin he local communi y. A e mo e han se en yea s o campaigning, he ac i is s succeeded in ge ing he communi y o ag ee ha a me- mo ial o he ic ims, which he ac i is s had e ec ed and which had been emo ed, would be e-e ec ed. Howe e , his success was only due o p essu e om ou side, when Ge man and in e na ional media began o epo on he case. Despi e he ob ious success o his g ass oo s mo e- men , Mikulo á wonde s whe he i can be desc ibed as a democ a iza ion o commemo a i e p ac ices in he sense o sha ed au ho i y. The s a ing poin o Kamila Ba aniecka-Olszewska’s con ibu ion a e Ga iel Rosen eld’s e lec ions on he no maliza ion o he ememb ance o Nazism. Wi h Rose- n eld, she sees no maliza ion as a shi o mo al assess- men s, which ul ima ely leads o banaliza ion, indi e ence, and social obli ion. Ba aniecka-Olszewska unde s ands his no maliza ion as esul ing om a plu aliza ion o ac o s in ememb ance cul u e. She in es iga es he consequences o his democ a iza ion p ocess o a highly ambiguous example: eenac men s o WWII ba les in Poland du ing which Polish eenac o s adop he ole o Weh mach sol- die s and membe s o he Wa en-SS. He con ibu ion shows ha he eenac o s no only see hemsel es as p o- mo e s o expe knowledge gene a ed by he expe ience o eenac men (especially wi h ega d o echnical aspec s o wa ), bu ha hey also belie e hemsel es o be aising awa eness o he wa ’s o en igno ed indi idual human 14 “Public and Applied His o y on he Ba lefield o Eu ope. Dealing wi h Pain ul Pas s in he 20 h Cen u y. Fi s con e ence o he Jean Monne Ne wo k ‘Applied Eu opean Con empo a y His o y’,”H-Soz- Kul , accessed No embe 17, 2021, www.hsozkul .de/e en /id/e en - 84166. I would like o hank Juliane Tomann, he co-o ganize o his con e ence, and all he o he ne wo k membe s who con ibu ed o he success o his e en : Jö g Ganzenmülle and Željana Tunić om he Uni e si y o Jena as well as Dami A senije ić, Judi h B and, Rado an Cukić, Gi a Denecke e, Jelena Ðo đe ić, Chan al Kes eloo , Dominik K e schmann, Judi h Maye , MilošNičić, Ljubinka Pe o ić-Zieme , Ada Vlajić, Jochen Voi , and Joanna Wojdon. 15 The ne wo k was unded by a g an om he Eu opean Union’s Educa ion, Audio isual and Cul u e Execu i e Agency (EACEA) and pa o he Jean Monne Ac i i ies (G an decision no. 2016-2422, p ojec numbe 575165-EPP-1-2016-1-DE-EPPJMO-NETWORK). 16 Fo a documen a ion o he ne wo k ac i i ies and i s app oach, see i s webpage: “Applied Eu opean Con empo a y His o y,”Applied Eu opean Con empo a y His o y, accessed No embe 17, 2021, h ps://aec-his o y.uni-jena.de. A Plea o Conscious No ma i i y 87 expe iences. This belie is oo ed in he ex ensi e bio- g aphical esea ch ypically pe o med by eenac o s be o e embodying he ole o Ge man soldie s, a p ac ice which o en leads hem o unde s and Weh mach pe sonnel as “no mal people”who we e o ced o go o wa . Howe e , wha migh sound like an a emp o con ibu e o a di e - en ia ed unde s anding o iolence and wa is called in o ques ion by he beha io o he eenac o s hemsel es as some show a dis u bing ascina ion wi h na ional socialis aes he ics, which gi es ise o se ious doub s abou hei poli ical a i ude and hei eal mo i es when aking pa in hese eenac men s. The compa a i e analysis o he cons ella ions examined in he con ibu ions allows some conclusions beyond he opical ho izon o he case s udies, which once again a es s o he po en ial o compa a i e ap- p oaches when analyzing Public His o y p ac ices. 17 While in all case s udies he democ a iza ion o his o y mani es s as a plu aliza ion o ac o s in ol ed in he p ocess o p oducing, dissemina ing, and ep esen ing his o ical knowledge, he ci cums ances and esul s o his p ocess di e . Compa ing he esul s o he case s udies used by Geo gi Ve beeck and SoňaMikulo á shows ha in he nego ia ion p ocesses hey in es iga e, ansna ional en anglemen s only played a mino ole. This is su p ising since in bo h cases (Belgium’s colonial pas and he wa a oci ies o he Weh mach ), such ansna ional dimensions do exis in mani old ways. Howe e , in he Belgian case, i was he delibe a e de- cision o he new go e nmen o ocus exclusi ely on hei coun y’s in ol emen in he mu de o Pa ice Lumumba and o igno e o he dimensions. In Mikulo á’s case s udy, his is due o he way he ac i is s decided o communica e wi h he local audience. Despi e he ac ha su i o s om he coun ies occupied du ing WWII we e able o sha e s o ies abou he a oci ies hey expe ienced hanks o he mobiliza ion e o s o he ac i is s, Mi enwald’s communi y membe s op ed no o hea hese s o ies, emphasizing he humilia ion esul - ing om he campaigns agains he memo ializa ion o Moun ain T oops. In bo h cases, his led o a ocus on he domes ic dimensions o he conflic on ememb ance, which significan ly limi ed he plu ali y and di e si y o he oices ha we e hea d in he espec i e dispu es. Di e gen emo ional disposi ions played a c ucial ole in his con ex . They we e an impo an eason o whe he his o ical expe iences we e aken se iously by he o he side o pe cei ed a all, as Mikulo á shows in he con ibu ion. A second, pe haps e en mo e essen ial poin con- ce ns he ole o no ma i e assessmen s, which is pa icula ly e iden in he case s udies done by Mikulo á and Ba aniecka-Olszewska. In Mikulo á’scase, he no ma i e claim o he ac i is s o implemen in he public wha hey conside ed o be he co ec in e p e- a ion o he pas de e mined he limi s o hei willing- ness o communica e. The local o ms o ememb ance in he Mi enwald communi y we e pe cei ed as scan- dalous, and he local p o agonis s’abili y o make a posi i e change was iewed skep ically. A dialogue wi h he local popula ion should only ake place on he e ms o he ac i is s. The memo y ac i is s, Mikulo á con- cludes, “sha ed au ho i y, bu only wi h hose wi h whom hey el solida i y.”No ma i e conside a ions also play a ole in he e alua ion o he eenac men s analyzed by Ba aniecka-Olszewska. To wha ex en can a socie y bea plu alizing pe spec i es on he pas ? And when does he ci ic esponsibili y o public his o ians u ge hem o in e ene? Reflec ing on hese ques ions is impe a- i e when i comes o dealing wi h pain ul his o ical expe iences. He e, i is no only impo an o espec he eelings o ic im g oups and hei descendan s; ques ions also a ise ega ding he ex en o which in e p e a ions o he pas can be ole a ed when hese ouch upon he no ma i e ounda ions o a democ a ic so- cie y. The ela i iza ion o he Ge man guil o he iolen c imes o WWII, as i seems o be sugges ed by a leas some o he eenac o s in es iga ed by Ba aniecka-Olszewska, is clea ly unbea able. As he empi ical indings o he case s udies p esen ed he e show, he e lec ion on he no ma i e dimensions o his o ical judgmen is o c ucial impo ance o Public His- o y. An in-dep h discussion, especially a ansna ional dialogue like he one his special sec ion aims o s imula e, would be highly compa ible wi h ecen deba es in he social sciences, whe e his ques ion is discussed as conscious no ma i i y. 18 17 As a plea o compa a i e app oaches, see Se ge Noi e and Thomas Cau in, “In e na ionalizing Public His o y,”in The Ox o d Handbook o Public His o y, eds. Paula Hamil on and James B. Ga dne (New Yo k: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2017), 25–43; Paul Ash on and Alex T apeznik, eds., Wha is Public His o y Globally? Wo king wi h he Pas in he P esen (London: Bloomsbu y Academic, 2019). 18 Rubén Flo es and Ryan Bu g, “A Case o Conscious No ma i i y: O How E hics Li e acy Can Benefi Sociology S uden s and Thei Teache s,”Ci ic Sociology 2, no. 1 (Feb ua y 2021). doi: 10.1525/cs.2021. 18219. 88 D. Die ks