At times of crisis and revolution such as ours diagnoses of crucial junctures and ruptures -
'turning points' - in the continuous flow of history are more prevalent than ever. Analysing
literary cinematic and other narratives the volume seeks to understand the meanings conveyed
by different concepts of turning points the alternative concepts to which they are opposed
when used to explain historical change and those contexts in which they are unmasked as false
and over-simplifying constructions. Literature and film in particular stress the importance of
turning points as a sensemaking device (as part of a character's or a community's cultural
memory) while at the same time unfolding the constructive and hence relative character of
turning points. Offering complex reflections on the notion of turning points literary and
filmic narratives are thus of particular interest to the present volume.
