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The Grimm Brothers: Folktales and Nation-building

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Grimms’ Fairy Tales is a familiar name. The brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in the German city of Hanau in 1785 and 1786 respectively. While both of them studied law, they soon developed an interest in collecting old folktales. They spent six years travelling from village to village, talking to people and writing down fairy tales, which were handed down through the generations. These were popular both among children and adults. In 1812, they published their first collection of tales. Subsequently, both the brothers became active in liberal politics, especially the movement for freedom of the press. In the meantime they also published a 33-volume dictionary of the German language. The Grimm brothers also saw French domination as a threat to German culture, and believed that the folktales they had collected were expressions of a pure and authentic German spirit. They considered their projects of collecting folktales and developing the German language as part of the

Ernst Renan, ‘What is a Nation?’

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 In a lecture delivered at the University of Sorbonne in 1882, the French philosopher Ernst Renan (1823-92) outlined his understanding of what makes a nation. The lecture was subsequently published as a famous essay entitled ‘Qu’est-ce qu’une nation?’ (‘What is a Nation?’). In this essay Renan criticizes the notion suggested by others that a nation is formed by a common language , race , religion , or territory : ‘A nation is the culmination of a long past of endeavors, sacrifice and devotion. A heroic past, great men, glory, that is the social capital upon which one bases a national idea. To have common glories in the past, to have a common will in the present, to have performed great deeds together, to wish to perform still more, these are the essential conditions of being a people. A nation is therefore a large-scale solidarity … Its existence is a daily plebiscite … A province is its inhabitants; if anyone has the right to be consulted, it is the inhabitant. A natio

Alessandro Antonio Volta

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Alessandro Antonio Volta Alessandro Antonio Volta (1745–1827), an Italian physicist, invented the electric battery—which provided the first continuous flow of electricity—and the capacitor. Born into a noble family in Como, Italy, Volta was performing electrical experiments at age 18. His invention of the battery in 1796 revolutionized the use of electricity. The publication of his work in 1800 marked the beginning of electric circuit theory. Volta received many honors during his lifetime. The unit of voltage or potential difference, the volt, was named in his honor.

who is abraham lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln  (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American civil war, the country's greatest moral, cultural, constitutional, and political crisis. He succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S economy. Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin and was raised on the Frontier primarily in Indiana. He was self-educated and became a lawyer, Whig party leader, Illinois state legislator, and U.S. Congressman from Illinois. In 1849, he returned to his law practice but became vexed by the opening of additional lands to slavery. as a result of the Kansas Nebraska act. He reentered politics in 1854, becoming a leader in the new Republican party, and he reached a national audience in the 1858 debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln ran for

Who is hitler

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Adolf Hitler  ( 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi party, becoming Chancellor in 1933 and then assuming the title of Fuhrer und Reichskanzler  in 1934. During his dictatorship from 1933 to 1945, he initiated World war II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust, the genoocide of about 6 million jews and millions of other victims. Hitler was born in Austria– then part of Austria-Hungary.– and was raised near Linz. He moved to Germany in 1913 and was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War 1. In 1919, he joined the German worker's part (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and was appointed leader of the Nazi Party in 1921. In 1923, he attempted to seize governmental power in a failed coup in Muni

where did the civilization in india began

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where did civilizations and human settlements take place in India As we all know India has very old and rich culture country, where we can find civilizations dating back to thousands of years ago, in this post lets discuss about the civilizations that that started after 8000 BC. before going to civilizations we should be able to understand some basic concepts like what are the essential things for humans to survive during the ancient times??? 1.Food: either through hunting and gathering or through crop cultivation and animal husbandry. 2.Water: hunting and gathering can be done where there is animal life but for crop cultivation and settlements the water is most important. 3.Geography and climatic conditions: for the humans to survive geography and climatic conditions play a very important role, geographic advantages provide protection from enemies, predators ,floods, tsunamis etc., and climatic conditions are also very important like droughts ,natural disasters etc. India has a very a

How were liberty and equality for women to be defined during 1850's ?

The liberal politician Carl Welcker, an electedmember of the Frankfurt Parliament, expressedthe following views:‘Nature has created men and women to carryout different functions … Man, the stronger, thebolder and freer of the two, has been designatedas protector of the family, its provider, meant forpublic tasks in the domain of law, production,defence. Woman, the weaker, dependent andtimid, requires the protection of man. Her sphereis the home, the care of the children, thenurturing of the family … Do we require anyfurther proof that given such differences, equalitybetween the sexes would only endangerharmony and destroy the dignity of the family?’Louise Otto-Peters (1819-95) was a politicalactivist who founded a women’s journal andsubsequently a feminist political association. Thefirst issue of her newspaper (21 April 1849) carriedthe following editorial:‘Let us ask how many men, possessed bythoughts of living and dying for the sake of Liberty,would be prepared to fight for the freed