Memory of the Dead in Modern France: Through Analysis of Literary Works and Monuments

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12867
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: European literature
• Research Institution: The University of Kitakyushu
• Principal Investigator: Fukushima Isao 北九州市立大学, 文学部, 准教授 (30422356)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: モニュメント / 記憶 / 死者 / 文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In monuments or memorial facilities such the Douaumont Ossuary in Verdun and the Center for the History of the Resistance and Deportation in Lyon City, the dead are sanctified heroically. In this way, the “founder" of the state or the community is deeply imprinted for political purposes. On the other hand, in literature, there is a methodical tendency to maintain the ambiguity of the dead instead of strong heroic profiles as observed in G. Bataille's L’Abbe C. It is possible to conclude that it is not only that literature subdues the dead for political persuasion but that it also makes it implausible.

Free Research Field

フランス文学・思想