Remembering the Socialist Past - Bad request! - University of Exeter

contrasting post-socialist contexts for how the socialist past is remembered in
literature.
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This introduction sets out the aims of my research and explains the
structure of the thesis. I will then explain the reasons for choosing to analyse
depictions of childhood in particular. This will be followed by an introduction to the
primary texts which will be discussed in Chapters 3 and 4. Finally, I will give a brief
overview of existing literature to show the contribution made by this thesis; a more
detailed exploration of research relevant to my thesis is provided in Chapters 1 and
2.
Aims and Approach of the Thesis
Following the work of scholars working on literature within the context of memory
studies, especially Astrid Erll, as well as Ansgar Nünning, Birgit Neumann and Ann
Rigney, my approach is based on the premise that literary texts can both represent,
and, potentially, play an active role in shaping individual and collective
remembrance. This thesis will show how German and Russian portrayals of
childhood in the GDR and Soviet Union ‘remember’ the socialist past in different
ways. This is not simply an analysis of how life under socialism is represented in the
texts. I also explore the extent to which the texts reflect, challenge or go beyond
the dominant ways of remembering the socialist past circulating in German and
Russian society and culture. Analysis of critics’ and readers’ reviews of the texts
further demonstrates the relationship between the surrounding memory cultures
and how the texts are interpreted. Analysis of the texts’ reception also provides
some indication of whether the texts are likely to shape the individual memories of
readers and, in a few cases, whether a text may contribute to collective memory of
the socialist past. 2
2 See Chapter 1 for my discussion of collective and cultural memory and an explanation of
how I understand and apply these terms in my own research.