Nation, Narration and Islam: Memory and Governmentality in Germany

Peter, Frank (2012). Nation, Narration and Islam: Memory and Governmentality in Germany. Current sociology, 60(3), pp. 338-352. London: Sage 10.1177/0011392111426489

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This article analyses narrations of German memories in relation to the incorporation of Islam into Germany. Memory narratives are not approached from the angle of identity, but as part of the continuous business of rationalizing politics inside and beyond the state. The citational use of narratives authorizes interventions in the process of government by constituting its objects, determining the means and aims of government and defining its authority. Narratives are a governmental practice, i.e. they connect politics narrowly defined with individual conduct, since narratives allow determination of a social context and what constitutes adequate behaviour within it. In this way, they help to orient practices of freedom. Acts such as the cultivating of an ethics of interreligious competition, involvement in specific forms of dialogue, or activism against Islamophobia and anti-Semitism derive meaning in part through such narratives, while simultaneously contributing new meaning.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institut für Studien zum Nahen Osten und zu muslimischen Gesellschaften
UniBE Contributor:	Peter, Frank
Subjects:	200 Religion > 290 Other religions
ISSN:	0011-3921
Publisher:	Sage
Language:	English
Submitter:	Users 263 not found.
Date Deposited:	15 Apr 2014 15:02
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:33
Publisher DOI:	10.1177/0011392111426489
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/51389