Myth, Memory, and Trauma in Nation-Building Narratives

Abstract

Nation-building is not only a political process but also a narrative act. It is fundamentally cultural and psychological. Nations are constructed through shared myths, collective memories, and narrative traumas. It is also true that Nations are imagined, remembered, and mythologised into existence through stories. Stories transform different acts into different ideas. Those stories also transform violence into destiny and suffering into sacrifice. This paper examines how myth, cultural memory, and trauma intersect within nation-building narratives. Drawing upon Benedict Anderson’s theory of imagined communities, Jan Aleida Assmann’s work on cultural memory and Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory. The paper argues that National stories often use painful past events to bring people together and make them feel united, as these stories connect people and make them proud of their nation. While myth provides sense and symbolic continuity, trauma interrupts history and leaves lasting pain that cannot be easily explained or resolved. The paper claims that nation-building narratives operate through selective remembering and strategic forgetting. It is converting historical violence into a foundational myth of unity, generating counter-memories that challenge official national histories. By theorising this tension, the article demonstrates that nationhood is sustained not only by shared memory but also by managed trauma.