Thesis (M.A.)--Cincinnati Christian University, 2008. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-157).

In the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, the Middle Ages provide several of the most important historical reference points for national identity. This thesis analyses how this period was given its significance. It studies the presentation of several medieval figures through historiography from their own lifetime to the present, how they entered collective memory and a national narrative of history, and how the symbolic values attributed to them shifted according to changing political needs. In addition, it identifies those figures that were forgotten, so as to explore the mechanisms of historiographical selection. The purported founder of Luxembourg is the tenth-century Count Sigefroid, who was (wrongly) regarded as the first ‘count of Luxembourg’ by the late sixteenth century. In his posthumous career he became the builder of the local castle and city, the creator of the country and father of the nation. He is often joined by his mythological fish-tailed wife Melusine, borrowed from a late medieval French roman that already hints at links to the rulers of Luxembourg. The two founders are linked to later themes through Countess Ermesinde. She was a thirteenth-century ruler, rediscovered by nineteenth-century liberals as an early precursor to their political ideals, while a group of Belgian Jesuits used her to foster a pilgrimage tradition. Historiography of the past two hundred years preferred her persona rather than her two husbands’ for creating a continuity within the different medieval dynasties, adding to their national character. Her descendant John of Bohemia was transformed quickly into the national hero par excellence. This process had its origin in late medieval literature where his ‘heroic’ death at the battle of Crécy is remembered. His tomb within the city of Luxembourg helped to keep him in local memory, while the loss of his remains to Prussia in the early nineteenth century created simmering discontent that lasted until their recovery in 1946. Interestingly, John stands for the pinnacle of a glorious age, whereas his successor Emperor Sigismund tended to embody the miserable decline of an era, despite having been endowed with many crowns and titles. This thesis borrows some of its theoretical framework from the study of lieux de mémoire, and makes use of a broad range of different sources, from historical writing to literature, visual art and popular gimmickry.

This study examines the issues of Transnistrian conflict, Transnistrian identity and Transnistrian statehood through the fields of historiography, economic development, language and educational politics, religion, Soviet ideology and the place of memory in two parts of the Republic of Moldova, Bessarabia and Transnistria. The results of this study reveal the influence of the above-listed spheres on identity in both regions, the significant role of the leadership of Transnistria and the Republic of Moldova in shaping peoples' opinion and strengthening the idea of Transnistrian statehood, and the existence of regional identity in Transnistria during a phase of transition.

In the theoretical part of this thesis are discussed concepts of collective memory created by Maurice Halbwachs, Pierre Nora and Jan Assmann, the author considers them inspiring for the research about forming of collective identity. Case study is given to the South Bohemian town of Pisek and the changing of its identity in the second half of the 19th century. It gives an overview of available sources and detailed biographies of people, who were most important for the forming of local identity. By using the analysis of dictionary entries are recognized basic attributes of local identity and their various forms, focusing particularly on process of modernization. KEYWORDS City of Písek, local identity, collective memory, process of modernization.

A festa do Divino Espírito Santo de São Luiz do Paraitinga, estado de São Paulo, mantém, na atualidade, muitos elementos típicos da cultura popular, destacadamente a constituição de uma fortalecida identidade local, a presença da oralidade e uma memória pautada em padrões coletivos e elementos altamente simbólicos e agregadores. Através da análise da história desta festa foi possível perceber a grande capacidade de plasticidade e transformação da cultura popular, e deparar-se com novas possibilidades de interpretação tanto da história local, como do espaço das manifestações populares na sociedade contemporânea brasileira. / The festivity of the Holy Spirit at São Luiz do Paraitinga, in the state of São Paulo, keeps nowadays many typical elements of the popular culture, specially de constitution of a strong local identity, the presence of orality and a memory based upon collective patterns and elements highly symbolic and aggregative. By analyzing this festivity it was possible to notice the popular culture great malleability and capacity of transform itself, and face new possibilities of interpreting both local history and the place of the popular culture in the Brazilian contemporary society.

A festa do Divino Espírito Santo de São Luiz do Paraitinga, estado de São Paulo, mantém, na atualidade, muitos elementos típicos da cultura popular, destacadamente a constituição de uma fortalecida identidade local, a presença da oralidade e uma memória pautada em padrões coletivos e elementos altamente simbólicos e agregadores. Através da análise da história desta festa foi possível perceber a grande capacidade de plasticidade e transformação da cultura popular, e deparar-se com novas possibilidades de interpretação tanto da história local, como do espaço das manifestações populares na sociedade contemporânea brasileira. / The festivity of the Holy Spirit at São Luiz do Paraitinga, in the state of São Paulo, keeps nowadays many typical elements of the popular culture, specially de constitution of a strong local identity, the presence of orality and a memory based upon collective patterns and elements highly symbolic and aggregative. By analyzing this festivity it was possible to notice the popular culture great malleability and capacity of transform itself, and face new possibilities of interpreting both local history and the place of the popular culture in the Brazilian contemporary society.

This diploma thesis focuses on the role of the American Civil War memory in the American society today. It examines this phenomenon through the perception of American Civil War reenactors. The thesis analyses their opinions on the current issues that are linked to the history of this conflict - the omnipresence of the Confederate monuments and the Confederate battle flag in the American public space. It also explores the subject of the Southern identity, the role of the Confederacy in its formation and whether the ideas of the Confederacy are still present in the South today. It is necessary to understand the Southern mentality and how it is perceived by the rest of the United States, because the individual characteristics of the Southern identity are reflected in the current debates on the Confederate heritage. An idea that interconnects the individual chapters of the thesis is that the American Civil War memory is strongly influenced by the Lost Cause ideology and the overall mythologization of the conflict. While the Civil War reenactors' main motivation is to educate society about the conflict, their opinions are also mostly supportive of the romantic perception of the Confederacy.