L'imaginaire paysan comme "mémoire historique": Patrimoine et construction de l'identité nationale par le biais des musées centraux

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the relation between the museum and the notion of identity through a study of patrimonial logics which aim at forging an official collective memory. We rely on a study of the mediation function of central museums in building a national identity through an endeavor to shape a "nation-memory" ("mémoire-nation", Pierre Nora) which draws on peasant sources. The stake of this study lies in its ability to bring to light institutional forms of patrimony in the era of nationalist ideologies, of the formation and consolidation of the nation state. In which ways is the relationship between patrimony and national identity embodied in the scientific patrimonial projects of the museums? In trying to answer this question, we set out to explore how the patrimony is exploited in order to foster political projects. Addressing the issue of central museums as a kind of ”surface” where the collective identity is "scratched" will help us shed lights on the metamorphoses of a "localizing memory" ("mémoire localisante", M.M. Carruthers) mobilized to build a shared identity.