Politics of the History of Politics: The State of the Art in the History of Politics

Keynote lecture for OPG, the research school of political history, building on discussions from the VU seminar for Humanities research masterstudents on the notions of rhetorical frames and imaginable possibilities as explored by Consuela Cruz in her article ‘How nations remember their pasts and make their futures’. Central argument is a tryout of her approach with as a use case the House of European History which recently opened in Brussels. This brand new museum is a dedicated case in point when we consider “the politics of the history of politics” since it is a project under direct responsibility of the European parliament, dealing with the history of the formation of the EU.