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The "bulwark" or antemurale myth-whereby a region is imagined as a defensive barrier against a dangerous Other-has been a persistent strand in the development of Eastern European nationalisms. While historical studies of the topic have typically focused on clashes and overlaps between sociocultural and religious formations, Rampart Nations delves deeper to uncover the mutual transfers and multi-sided national and interconfessional conflicts that helped to spread bulwark myths through Europe's eastern periphery over several centuries. Ranging from art history to theology to political science, this volume offers new ways of understanding the political, social, and religious forces that continue to shape identity in Eastern Europe.
About the author
Dr. Liliya Berezhnaya is currently a Research Associate at the University of Amsterdam and a Self-supporting Visiting Professor at KU Leuven, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. She is the author of the books: Die Militarisierung der Heiligen in Vormoderne und Moderne (2020); Iconic Turns: Nation and Religion in Eastern European Cinema Since 1989 (2013; co-edited with Christian Schmitt); and The World to Come: Ukrainian Images of the Last Judgment (2015; co-authored with John-Paul Himka).
Heidi Hein-Kircher earned her master’s and doctoral degrees from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. In 2018, she earned her habilitation degree at Philipps University in Marburg. She is currently on the research staff at the Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe in Marburg, Germany. She is also the Head of Department at the Institute’s Academic Forum.
Summary
Through perspectives that range from Eastern European art history to theology, with a concentration on the nexus of political, social, and religious history, this volume explores historical narratives that have shaped contemporary Eastern European national identities.
