Abstract

This article explores two modes of innocence at work in the making of the Humboldt Forum, Germany’s biggest cultural project. It examines the legacy of the historical castle’s “cabinet of curiosities” and the elevation of the Humboldt brothers, especially Alexander von Humboldt, to patron saints. Through these cases, the article identifies an exculpatory mode of innocence focused on the past and an anticipatory mode focused on the future. These modes, it argues, exemplify a tension between the imagination of history as a timeless realm that eschews redemption and as fungible materials that can be recombined to start anew and redeem the past.

Details

Title
Brand of Brothers?
Author
Bach, Jonathan
Pages
100-111
Section
Articles
Publication year
2021
Publication date
Mar 2021
Publisher
Berghahn Books, Inc.
ISSN
10450300
e-ISSN
15585441
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2533158607
Copyright
© 2021. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.