Jie-Hyun Lim (Sogang University, South Korea): “Victimhood Nationalism: History and Memory in a Global Age”
June 24, 2025
2 pm
Campus Westend, Room Casino 1.812
The term “victimhood nationalism” is designed to illustrate competing memories of victimhood in the postwar Vergangenheitsbewältigung in the global memory space. I try to investigate global memory culture, focusing on victimhood memories critically. Once put into the dichotomy of victimizers and victims in national terms, the victimhood becomes hereditary and thus consolidates the national solidarity beyond generations. Victimhood nationalism is intrinsically transnational since victims are unthinkable without victimizers. The transnationality of victimhood nationalism demands a histoire croisée to comprehend the entangled pasts of the victimized and victimizers. The vicious circle of victimhood nationalism has been a rock to any historical reconciliation effort globally. Focusing on the nationalist phenomenology that constructs memories upon the present idea of the nation, my book traces the global trajectory of victimhood nationalism through the interactions among Poland, Germany, Israel, Japan, and Korea. It aims to sacrifice the victimhood nationalism globally for history reconciliation and mnemonic solidarity.
The fourth TraCe lecture series “Transformations of Political Violence: New Perspectives” will present new approaches to the changing forms, institutions and interpretations of political violence, which are examined in the context of TraCe. The lecture series combines interdisciplinary perspectives from history, sociology, political science and cultural studies with activist voices.
Find out more on our event page.
