The past as a political problem

Abstract

The history on historiography, from the beginning of the 20th century, was inclined to examine the works which were recognized as significant ones and the lives of their authors, tending to suppose them outside the institutional or political-cultural constraints. Later on, the use of perspectives forged for other cases led to care about the organization processes of professional history, usually peculiar and limited, while its political and social dimension became evident. From the late 1970’s, on the international scene, these studies were intersected with those dedicated to research the construction of social imaginaries about the past, the attempts to found or control collective memories, and the disputes for imposing an interpretation of the past over others; all actions in which, in one way or another, the institutions of professional history, but also the State, political parties and other collective actors were involved. Thus, a new object of study seemed to have been constituted.