Inventing Luxembourg: Representations of the Past, Space and Language from the Nineteenth to the Twentyfirst Century (National ,Used

Review'Even without looking at the impact of the nationalising discourses it analyses, this book remains an important contribution to the wider field of nationalism studies. Indeed, it has already opened new venues for research on topics such as the development of national museums in Belgium and increased our awareness of how examining the nationbuilding process as a continuing development requires keeping one eye on the past and the other on the future.' Madalina Valeria Veres, in: European Review of History Revue europenne d'histoire 19/3, p. 463464'Vor allem aber ist die konsequente Analyse der Konstruktion der luxemburgischen Nation auf den drei ausgewhlten Untersuchungsebenen eine imponierende Leistung. Die historische Luxemburgforschung beteiligt sich seit zwei Jahrzehnten im Bereich der mittelalterlichen und der Stdtegeschichte, in der Geschichte der lndlichen Gesellschaft und der europischen Integration an den internationalen Forschungsdebatten. Mit Inventing Luxemburg gilt dies auch fr die Erforschung von Nationsbildungen.' Norbert Franz, in: SEHEPUNKTE Rezensionsjournal fr die Geschichtswissenschaften 10/11 (2010)Product DescriptionThe grand duchy of Luxembourg is a showcase example for the constructed nature of national identities. This book explores this construction process from the nineteenth to the twentyfirst century, focusing on representations of the past, space and languagFrom the Back CoverThe grand duchy of Luxembourg was created after the Napoleonic Wars, but at the time there was no 'nation' that identified with the emergent state. This book analyses how politicians, scholars and artists have initiated and contributed to nationbuilding processes in Luxembourg since the nineteenth century, processes that as this book argues are still ongoing. The focus rests on three types of representations of nationhood: a shared past, a common homeland and a national language. History was written so as to justify the country's political independence. Territorial borders shifted meaning, constantly repositioning the national community. The local dialect initially considered German variant was gradually transformed into the 'national language', Luxembourgish.About the AuthorPit Pport, PhD (2008) in History, University of Edinburgh, is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg. With a background in the medieval history of the Low Countries, he has also published in the fields of historiography and collective memory.Sonja Kmec, PhD (2004) in History, University of Oxford, is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg. Her latest book is Across the Channel, Noblewomen in SeventeenthCentury France and England (Trier: Kliomedia, 2009).Benot Majerus, PhD (2004) in History, Free University of Brussels, is a postdoctoral researcher (FNRS) at that same university. He has published extensively on the German occupation of Belgium and Luxembourg in the two world wars and the history of psychiatry.Michel Margue, PhD (1999) in History, Free University of Brussels, is Professor of History at the University of Luxembourg and currently also its Dean of the Faculty of Lettres, Humanities, Arts and Education. He has published extensively on medieval history.