‘An Appetite for the Past’: The Re-Creation of Shaka and the Crisis in Popular Historical Consciousness

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. HAMILTON
Keyword(s):  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
The Past

scholarly journals Illuminating Vestige: Amateur Archaeology and the Emergence of Historical Consciousness in Rural France

2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 474-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Hodges
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Economic Restructuring ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Historical Ethnography ◽  
The Past ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Rural France

AbstractThis article provides a historical ethnography of an abrupt and transient awakening of interest in Roman vestige during the 1970s in rural France, and explores its implications for comparative understanding of historical consciousness in Western Europe. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Languedoc, and particularly the commune of Monadières, it details a vogue for collecting pottery shards scattered in a nearby lagoon that developed among local inhabitants. The article frames this as a ritualized “expressive historicity” emergent from political economic restructuring, cultural transformation, and time-space compression. It analyses the catalyzing role of a historian who introduced discursive forms into the commune for symbolizing the shards, drawn from regionalist and socialist historiography, which local people adapted to rearticulate the historicity of lived experience as a novel, hybrid genre of “historical consciousness.” These activities are conceptualized as a “reverse historiography.” Elements of historiographical and archaeological discourses—for example, chronological depth, collation and evaluation of material relics—are reinvented to alternate ends, partly as a subversive “response” to contact with such discourses. The practice emerges as a mediation of distinct ways of apprehending the world at a significant historical juncture. Analysis explores the utility of new anthropological theories of “historicity”—an alternative to the established “historical idiom” for analyzing our relations with the past—which place historiography within the analytical frame, and enable consideration of the temporality of historical experience. Findings suggest that the alterity of popular Western cultural practices for invoking the past would reward further study.

scholarly journals Contemporary understanding of the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth

2019 ◽  
pp. 313-325
Author(s):  
Borislav Grozdic ◽  
Valerija Dabetic
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Value System ◽  
National Integration ◽  
Common Value ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past ◽  
Spiritual Community ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of

In the aggressive dominance of critical rational thinking over the mythical worldview, myth as a historical and effective force does not lose its actuality and importance, because myths often hide deeper messages than what history can offer. In such a social context, the significance of the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth - the commitment to the Heavenly Kingdom, as a lasting common value of the Serbian people, returns as a theme. In spite of its omnipresence, the opinion prevails that the myth belongs to the past, and if it is not yet obsolete, it certainly should be. The authors advocate the idea that myth, as a comprehensive experience of the world, and therefore the Kosovo myth as well, is a factor of national integration, a part of collective identity, and a common value system. Analysing the secular and spiritual understanding of the Kosovo myth, the authors point out the importance of the vivid memory of the prince Lazar?s commitment to the Heavenly Kingdom. For Christians, this represents the value and goal above all others and it forms the core of the Serbian historical consciousness and spiritual community. The paper shows that the spiritual message of the Kosovo myth is not understood or it is misunderstood nowadays, since the commitment to Kosovo is perceived as a call and an obligation to die for it. The authors conclude that the Kosovo myth is not a call to die in the war, on the contrary, it is a struggle for external and internal freedom, as well as for the highest values that are implied by the definition of the Heavenly Kingdom ? peace, love, honour, justice, dignity, and others.

scholarly journals How to make sense of the past – salient issues of Metahistory

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorn Rusen
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Historical Thinking ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Historical Culture ◽  
Leading Question

This aerticle provides an overview of current issues in metahistoty. Basic categories of historical thinking, such as memory and historical culture, or historical consciousness, are outlined and contextualised in the field of historical studies. The leading question adresses the process of historical sense generation and its fundamental principles and criteria. In respnse to the traumatic historical experiences of crimes against humanitiy in the 20th century two culturally established procedures of sense generation are applied to historical thinking: mourning and forgiving. The author tries to widen the horizon of historical thinking into the dimension of intercultural communication. In the process he responds to the challenge of globilization. There is an accent on the need to pursue new approaches in history.

scholarly journals Retro quality and historical consciousness in contemporary European television

2017 ◽  
pp. 78-96
Author(s):  
Louis Bayman
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
National History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Superior Knowledge ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Self

This article investigates the trend represented by the recent TV series This Is England 86 (2010), Deutschland 83 (2015) and 1992 (2015). It analyses retro in the series as enabling an exhilarating experience of the music, fashions and lifestyles of the past while claiming to offer a serious social history. The article thus takes issue with theories of retro that view it as ahistorical (for example Guffey), to demonstrate how retro in these series enables a particular dramatic conception of the dynamics of national history, whether in post-imperial decline (This Is England), a westalgie for the grip of geopolitical conflict (Deutschland 83) or the cyclical progression of trasformismo (1992). The article discusses the series’ common visions of the past as characterised by a pleasing youthful naivety, opposed to an implied present of cynical superior knowledge. I argue that these series embody retro’s distinct ability to combine irony and fetishism in its recreation of the past, as befits an age in which historical consciousness is increasingly referred to the intimate sphere of the individual self and its uncertain relation to posterity.

scholarly journals Temps et récit : un défi pour l'écriture de l'histoire. À propos d'une lecture ricœurienne de Landscape and Memory de Simon Schama

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-66
Author(s):  
Josef Řídký
Keyword(s):  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
The Other ◽  
Work Time ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Historical Discourse ◽  
The Past ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
The One

During the past fifty years, a dispute over the nature of historical discourse has taken place with the narrativist approach, arguing for the dominance of narration in history, on the one hand, and professional historians defending historiography's will to tell the truth, on the other. Paul Ricoeur entered the discussion with his work Time and Narrative where he offered an inventive response. According to him, both narration and scientific explication are essential to historical discourse. To support his statement, he introduces terms such as ‘a third time,‘ ‘a quasi-narration’ or ‘a historical consciousness.’ Thus, he shifts attention from narration to time. These terms can prove their usefulness when interpreting historical works. In the rest of the article, we aim to carry out such an interpretation on the example of Landscape and Memory by Simon Schama. In a Ricœurian perspective, Schama's book reveals its deep time significance.

scholarly journals Implicações da noção de consciência histórica nas ciências humanas e sociais: um modo de projeção para o futuro e de posição em relação ao passado

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (68) ◽  
pp. 817-843
Author(s):  
Fábio César Junges ◽  
Tiago Anderson Brutti ◽  
Adair Adams
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human And Social Sciences ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Siglo Xx

Implicações da noção de consciência histórica nas ciências humanas e sociais: um modo de projeção para o futuro e de posição em relação ao passado Resumo: O presente texto, de caráter bibliográfico, discute o problema da consciência histórica com o objetivo de pensar o sentido dessa expressão na atualidade e as variações que esse conceito adquiriu ao longo da história das Ciências Humanas e Sociais, com ênfase no século XX. A hipótese é que a discussão a respeito da consciência histórica passou a se ocupar, na modernidade, com uma múltipla relatividade de pontos de vista, o que é destacado por Gadamer em sua análise sobre os preceitos implicados na definição do que significa “ter senso histórico”. É defendida a tese, portanto, de que a noção de consciência histórica não se limita ao conhecimento das experiências vivenciadas no passado, mas se apresenta como condição de possibilidade de projetar o futuro e se posicionar em relação ao passado, especialmente no que diz respeito às ciências humanas e sociais. A defesa desta ideia central é realizada por meio de dois gestos reflexivos, com apresentação, primeiramente, do marco teórico da consciência histórica e, posteriormente, de suas implicações na constituição das Ciências Humanas e Sociais. Palavras-chave: Ciências humanas e sociais. Senso histórico. Passado. Futuro. Implications of the notion of historical consciousness in human and social sciences: a mode of projection for the future and position in relation to the past Abstract: This bibliographic text discusses the problem of historical consciousness with the purpose of thinking about the meaning of this expression in the present time and the variations that this concept has acquired throughout the history of the Humanities and Social Sciences, with emphasis on the twentieth century. The hypothesis is that the discussion about historical consciousness has come to concern itself, in modernity, with a multiple relativity of points of view, which is highlighted by Gadamer in his analysis of the precepts involved in defining what “having a historical sense” means. Therefore, the thesis that the notion of historical consciousness is not limited to the knowledge of past experiences is defended, but is presented as a condition of possibility of projecting the future and positioning itself in relation to the past, especially with regard to humanities and social sciences. The defense of this central idea is made through two reflexive gestures, presenting, first, the theoretical framework of historical consciousness and, later, its implications in the constitution of the Human and Social Sciences. Keywords: Human and social sciences. Historical sense. Past. Future. Implicaciones de la noticia de conciencia histórica en las ciencias humanas y sociales: un modo de proyección para el futuro y de posición en relación al pasado Resumen: El presente texto, de carácter bibliográfico, discute el problema de la conciencia histórica con el propósito de pensar sobre el significado de esta expresión en la actualidad y las variaciones que este concepto ha adquirido a lo largo de la historia de las Humanidades y las Ciencias Sociales, con énfasis en el siglo XX. La hipótesis es que la discusión sobre la conciencia histórica ha llegado a ocuparse, en la modernidad, de una relatividad múltiple de puntos de vista, que Gadamer destaca en su análisis de los preceptos involucrados en la definición de lo que significa “tener un sentido histórico”. " Por lo tanto, se defiende la tesis de que la noción de conciencia histórica no se limita al conocimiento de experiencias pasadas, sino que se presenta como una condición de posibilidad de proyectar el futuro y posicionarse en relación con el pasado, especialmente con respecto a humanidades y ciencias sociales. La defensa de esta idea central se realiza a través de dos gestos reflexivos, presentando, primero, el marco teórico de la conciencia histórica y, luego, sus implicaciones en la constitución de las Ciencias Humanas y Sociales. Palabras clave: Ciencias Humanas y Sociales. Sentido histórico. Pasado. Futuro. Data de registro: 28/05/2019 Data de aceite: 24/10/2019

The significance of family reminiscing for children’s historical consciousness

2021 ◽  
pp. 175069802110498
Author(s):  
Jukka Rantala
Keyword(s):  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Media Culture ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Historical Discourse ◽  
The Past ◽  
Future Success ◽  
Historical Sites

Ten years ago, I set out to study the ways in which Finnish children encounter the past. Back then, I found that parents and grandparents play an important role as sources of historical knowledge. In early 2020, I duplicated the same interview study with 78 children between 10 and 12 years of age. Despite the changes in media culture, looking at photographs and visiting historical sites together with family have retained their relevance as historical activities. Storytelling through family mementos is also commonplace. Although the historical discourse of families revolves around everyday topics, the Finnish wars of 1939–1945 are still strongly present in historical storytelling. Against the backdrop of their parents’ and grandparents’ lives, children perceive history as a progress narrative, which inspires them to believe in their nation’s and their own future success. In this article, I explore the significance of family reminiscing for children’s historical consciousness.

Calvin, the Bible, and History

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Pitkin
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Biblical Interpretation ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Introductory Overview ◽  
Historical Developments

Calvin, the Bible, and History investigates John Calvin’s distinctive historicizing approach to scripture. The book explores how historical consciousness manifests itself in Calvin’s engagement with the Bible, sometimes leading him to unusual, unprecedented, and occasionally deeply controversial exegetical conclusions. It reshapes the image of Calvin as a biblical interpreter by situating his approach within the context of premodern Christian biblical interpretation, recent Protestant hermeneutical trends, and early modern views of history. In an introductory overview of Calvin’s method and seven chapters focusing on his interpretation of different biblical books or authors, Barbara Pitkin analyzes his engagement with scripture from the Pentateuch to his reception of the apostle Paul. Each chapter examines intellectual or cultural contexts, situating Calvin’s readings within traditional and contemporary exegesis, broader cultural trends, or historical developments, and explores the theme of historical consciousness from a different angle, focusing, for example, on Calvin’s historicizing treatment of Old Testament prophecy, or his reflection of contemporary historiographical trends, or his efforts to relate the biblical past to present historical conditions. An epilogue explores the significance of these findings for understanding Calvin’s concept of history. Collectively these linked case studies illustrate the multifaceted character and expansive impact of his sense of history on his reading of the Bible. They demonstrate that Calvin’s biblical exegesis must be seen in the context of the rising enthusiasm for defining adequate and more formalized approaches to the past that is evident in the writings of Renaissance humanists, early modern historical theorists, and religious reformers across the confessional spectrum.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document