The Usable Past

In this volume, K.S. Brown and Yannis Hamilakis bring together scholars of history, archaeology, and anthropology to explore the located and contextual nature of historical narratives. The contributors analyze contested historic rituals, building styles, and traditions-looking through the unique lens of twentieth-century Greek identity-paying particular attention to the ways these social phenomena and cultural artifacts manifest tension between 'official' and 'unofficial' narratives of the past. Though focused on the changing historical basis of Greek culture and identity, this work further serves as an important theoretical contemplation of how our view of the past is shaped by our relationship with the present.