Impuls kontrfaktyczny a pamięć kulturowa. Historie alternatywne jako narodowe imaginarium

The aim of the article is to sketch the perspectives for studying alternate history genre in the context of memory studies, especially the category of cultural memory. The text presents the basic elements of the methodological apparatus and the central interpretative thesis according to which the tendency of allohistorical novels to reduct historiosophical reflection is conditioned by memory mechanisms. The connection between the aesthetics of the genre and its memorial strategies is shown through the analysis of two Polish alternate history novels: Quietus by Jacek Inglot and Krzyżacki poker by Dariusz Spychalski.