An extensive look at historical, literary, and media representations of
'68 in Germany, challenging the way it has been instrumentalized.
In Germany, the concept of "1968" is enduring and synonymous with the
German Student Movement, and is viewed, variously, as a fundamental
liberalization, a myth, a second foundation, or an irritation. The
movement's aims - radicalre-imagination of the political and economic
order and social hierarchy - have been understood as requiring a "long
march." While the movement has been judged at best a "successful
failure," cultural elites continue to engage inthe construction of 1968.
Ingo Cornils's book argues that writing about 1968 in Germany is no
longer about the historical events or the specific objectives of a
bygone counterculture, but is instead a moral touchstone, a marker
ofsocial group identity meant to keep alive (or at bay) a utopian agenda
that continues to fire the imagination. The book demonstrates that the
representation of 1968 as a "foundational myth" suits the needs of a
number of surprisingly heterogeneous groups, and that even attempts to
deconstruct the myth strengthen it. Cornils brings together for the
first time the historical, literary, and media representations of the
movement, showing the motivation behindand effect of almost five decades
of writing about 1968. In so doing, Cornils challenges the way 1968 has
been instrumentalized: as a powerful imaginary that has colonized every
aspect of life in Germany, and as symbolic capitalin cultural and
political debates.
Ingo Cornils is Professor of German Studies at the University of Leeds.
