scholarly journals Peak Document and the Future of History

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
J. R. McNeill
Keyword(s):  
Natural Science ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Relative Significance ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Future

Abstract Among the ongoing revolutions in historical research is the flood of new information about the past that comes not from written documents but from the natural sciences and archaeology. What might this mean for the profession of history, and for our training and institutional practices? How might it affect our research and interpretations of the past? Which fields of history will be most and least affected? I argue for a cautious embrace of the new data about the past coming from the paleosciences, offering a few examples of the promise and perils presented by the work of our natural science and archaeology colleagues. With each passing year, the proportion of our knowledge of the past that derives from the kinds of documents we have learned to read and interpret will shrink, and the proportion that derives from what to most of us are unfamiliar sciences will mount. This has implications. First, the deeper past might make a comeback. The last century or two are the best documented and will likely be least affected by the flood. The intellectual excitement may tip toward the study of earlier centuries where relative significance of information in other formats is greater. Second, the ways in which we train historians may need to change. A possible partial guide to our future as historians is the experience of precolonial Africanists, who are accustomed to research without written documents.

Looking backward to the future: Counter-memory as oppositional knowledge-production in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifat Gutman
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Temporal Shift ◽  
Palestinian Refugees ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Justice ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Future ◽  
Peace Activism ◽  
Activist Groups

This article examines a strategy of peace activism that gained visibility in the last decades: memory activism. Memory activists manifest a temporal shift in transnational politics: first the past, then the future. Affiliated with the globally-circulating paradigm of historical justice, memory activist groups assume that a new understanding of the past could lead to a new perception of present problems and project alternative solutions for the future. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and discourse analysis among memory activists of the 1948 war in Israel since 2001, the article examines the activist production of counter-memory during active conflict. Using Coy et al.’s typology of oppositional knowledge-production, the article shows how the largest group of memory activism in Israel produced ‘new’ information on the war, critically assessed the dominant historical narrative, offered an alternative shared narrative, and began to envision practical solutions for Palestinian refugees. However, the analysis raises additional concerns that reach beyond the scope of the typology, primarily regarding the unequal power relations that exist not only between the dominant and activist production of oppositional knowledge, but also among activists.

scholarly journals Practical Notes on Historical Research

1922 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 132-149
Author(s):  
Francis Piggott
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Traditional Manner ◽  
National Business ◽  
General Criticism

Historical Research is very much in the air just now. Public opinion is at last awake to the fact, which is elementary to us, that only by knowledge of the way in which national problems have been solved in the past can the problems of the present and the future be successfully dealt with. Historical Research opens the gateways to the longforgotten centuries. In regard to the more modern times embraced by the last few centuries, its special object is to ascertain with precision the details of those problems, political and international, the reasons which led to their solution, satisfactory or otherwise. I propose to glance at this aspect of it only. When one realises what those national problems are, that they have varied little since we began to understand what the sea means to us, it stands to reason that research should be treated as a national business; but, after our traditional manner, the period about which we ought to know so much, but know so little, is left to the individual. And war impressions speedily fade: witness the interest which Parliament takes in this matter, and the knowledge it displays of the work involved, as shown by the opposition to the grant of a modest salary to the Historian attached for purposes of research to the Foreign Office. The general criticism was that no such officer was required, that everybody knew where the facts of any event in history were to be found, and that when wanted any Foreign Office clerk could be turned on to the job of finding them!

scholarly journals Indeks, ikona i symbol. O stosunku fotografii, historii (czasu) i pamięci

2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 107-127
Author(s):  
Christoph Hamann
Keyword(s):  
Charles Sanders Peirce ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Digital Photographs ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
The Future ◽  
Collective Resource ◽  
Visual History ◽  
The Way

The Author starts with a thesis that photography and modern historiography developed at the same time, and then tries to look for relationships between the two. He starts from analyzing a specificity of a photograph which — as a medium — not only represents the past, but can be an energizing impulse both in the presence and the future. By referring to the semiotic classification of Charles Sanders Peirce, the Author describes the importance of a photograph to historical research as an index, an icon and a symbol. This helps understand the way of using a collective resource of photographs and to define a status of digital photographs as a source. Finally, the Author tries to show the perspectives of visual history analysis and the role which might be played by images when forming and changing memory communities in the era of globalization and diversification.

scholarly journals STUDENTS RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AS A BASIS OF NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-5
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Korozhneva
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Natural Science ◽  
Main Tool ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Main Method ◽  
Main Form ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Natural Science Education

Currently, many scientists and teachers ask themselves the question: "What can be changed in the process of science education so that students become active creators of their own knowledge and actively act in the environment?" Over the past several decades of the twentieth century, the main form of organizing education in the field of natural sciences was a lesson at a school desk, the main method was the teacher's word and the main tool was a textbook. The need to organize research activities is explained by the orientation of education towards the development of the student's personality, his cognitive and creative abilities and the acquisition of experience of independent activity in various areas of the surrounding world.

scholarly journals Economic Policy from the Perspective of Contemporary Challenges in Economic History – Hopes, Concerns and Dilemmas

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-36
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Słodowa-Hełpa
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Policy Problems ◽  
Language Literature

AbstractThe article, written on the basis of a critical review of the latest Polish and foreign-language literature, materials from websites and the author’s experience gained from previous research, is treated as a voice in the discussion on new challenges and the need for historical research on economic policy in its various dimensions and contexts, and on the possibilities in this field. The premises which determined the title, nature and scope of the study were highlighted in the introduction. The following three parts attempt to answer the following questions in sub-headings: why is the turn to the problems of economic policy particularly desirable now? What premises justify and enable intensification of historical research on economic policy problems? How to study the past of economic policy to participate in managing the present and creating the future?

scholarly journals Commemorative Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand: Exploring the bicentennial and sestercentennial of the Endeavour's arrival in Gisborne and Tairāwhiti

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Nuttall
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Meaningful Experiences ◽  
Constructing Meaning

<p>In the midst of commemoration programmes for the centenary of the First World War, academic literature about and interest in the topic of commemoration has grown significantly. While studies in the UK and America focus on the use of the past and commemoration, there is little work on commemorative practice within a New Zealand context, particularly over a period of time. As museums and heritage sites increasingly look to new ways of making meaningful experiences for a diverse and changing public, this research seeks to address the gap in the literature and help to inform future management of commemoration in New Zealand.  With the sestercentennial of the 1769 arrival of the Endeavour to New Zealand coming up in 2019, this research involved case studies of the earlier bicentennial in 1969 and the planning stages of the future commemoration in both Gisborne (the site of Lieutenant James Cook’s first landing) and Wellington. The methods employed for this dissertation comprised archival and documentary research, as well as interviews with professionals involved in the sestercentennial. Using a theoretical framework based in museum and heritage studies, as well as history, sociology and cultural studies this study considers the many ways we use the past, from institutional practices to vernacular interests.  The findings revealed that in 1969 commemorations in Gisborne were a spectacle, a true performance. Depictions of Cook were everywhere and monuments were erected all around the city. From pageantry to legacy building, the 2019 focus is on educating the public and establishing meaningful legacies for the future. This dissertation concludes that commemoration should not be treated as a one-off event but rather as an ongoing practice that is shaped by the past and by social and political contexts as much as we are. I argue that the three most important, yet also most changeable, elements of commemoration are narrative, approach to management (top-down and/or bottom-up), and participation. It is common for some to want to ‘look forward’ rather than to the past to inform commemorative planning. However, I argue that more can be gained by consciously seeing the continuity and change of commemorative practice through time. By looking at commemorations in the past and plans for the future this research furthers our understanding of the practice and its role in constructing meaning.</p>

Czechoslovak Post-Stalinism: A Distinct Field of Socialist Visions

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 220-249
Author(s):  
Jan Mervart ◽  
Jiří Růžička
Keyword(s):  
General Framework ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
History Of Thought ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Distinct Field

Abstract Recent historical research has looked at post-Stalinism as a specific and distinct historical era. Whereas Anatoly Pinsky points to the post-Stalinist emphasis on subjectivity, Pavel Kolář writes about post-Stalinist indecisiveness resulting from the tension between its inheritance from the past and an anticipated future. Having both approaches in mind, this article sheds light on the anticipatory character of post-Stalinist thought, which, by critically analyzing its present, aimed to achieve a socialist future. The opening part of the article articulates a theory of modernity, which is applied to the history of thought and is employed as a general framework for defining the post-Stalinist era. Second, the authors introduce the category of post-Stalinist reflexivity and analyze internal differentiation within the thought of the party intelligentsia, which led to the birth of various conceptions of socialism (an “internal plurality”). Third, the article analyzes humanist and techno-optimist thought in Czechoslovakia and demonstrates the future-oriented nature of post-Stalinism.

scholarly journals From papyrus to megabytes: conservation management of archival and photograph collections

1970 ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
István Kecskemèti
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Process ◽  
Natural Science ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Storage Management ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Future ◽  
And Storage

Conservation and conservation management is a dynamic process. It includes many disciplines that involve keeping the collection accessible for the future. Conservation management includes dedicated disciplines such as applied conservation and natural science, analysis, building and storage management, reformatting, politics and exhibition. Networking can be seen as an important tool as a conservation manager needs to keep up to date on new information dedicated to safeguarding the collection. 

scholarly journals Commemorative Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand: Exploring the bicentennial and sestercentennial of the Endeavour's arrival in Gisborne and Tairāwhiti

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Nuttall
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Meaningful Experiences ◽  
Constructing Meaning

<p>In the midst of commemoration programmes for the centenary of the First World War, academic literature about and interest in the topic of commemoration has grown significantly. While studies in the UK and America focus on the use of the past and commemoration, there is little work on commemorative practice within a New Zealand context, particularly over a period of time. As museums and heritage sites increasingly look to new ways of making meaningful experiences for a diverse and changing public, this research seeks to address the gap in the literature and help to inform future management of commemoration in New Zealand.  With the sestercentennial of the 1769 arrival of the Endeavour to New Zealand coming up in 2019, this research involved case studies of the earlier bicentennial in 1969 and the planning stages of the future commemoration in both Gisborne (the site of Lieutenant James Cook’s first landing) and Wellington. The methods employed for this dissertation comprised archival and documentary research, as well as interviews with professionals involved in the sestercentennial. Using a theoretical framework based in museum and heritage studies, as well as history, sociology and cultural studies this study considers the many ways we use the past, from institutional practices to vernacular interests.  The findings revealed that in 1969 commemorations in Gisborne were a spectacle, a true performance. Depictions of Cook were everywhere and monuments were erected all around the city. From pageantry to legacy building, the 2019 focus is on educating the public and establishing meaningful legacies for the future. This dissertation concludes that commemoration should not be treated as a one-off event but rather as an ongoing practice that is shaped by the past and by social and political contexts as much as we are. I argue that the three most important, yet also most changeable, elements of commemoration are narrative, approach to management (top-down and/or bottom-up), and participation. It is common for some to want to ‘look forward’ rather than to the past to inform commemorative planning. However, I argue that more can be gained by consciously seeing the continuity and change of commemorative practice through time. By looking at commemorations in the past and plans for the future this research furthers our understanding of the practice and its role in constructing meaning.</p>

scholarly journals Information Dynamics in Complex Systems Negates a Dichotomy between Chance and Necessity

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Georg F. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Information Dynamics ◽  
Linear Processes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Thermodynamic Entropy ◽  
Decision Points ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Future ◽  
Definition Of

Entropy increases in the execution of linear physical processes. At equilibrium, all uncertainty about the future is removed and information about the past is lost. Complex systems, on the other hand, can lead to the emergence of order, sustain uncertainty about the future, and generate new information to replace all old information about the system in finite time. The Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy for events and the Kolmogorov–Chaitin complexity for strings of numbers both approximate Shannon’s entropy (an indicator for the removal of uncertainty), indicating that information production is equivalent to the degree of complexity of an event. Thus, in the execution of non-linear processes, information entropy is inseparably tied to thermodynamic entropy. Therein, the critical decision points (bifurcations), which can exert lasting impact on the evolution of the future (the “butterfly effect”), defy the definition of being either born from randomness or from determination. Nevertheless, their information evolution and degree of complexity are amenable to measurement and can meaningfully replace the dichotomy of chance versus necessity. Common anthropomorphic perceptions do not accurately account for the transient durability of information, the potential for major consequences by small actions, or the absence of a discernible opposition between coincidence and inevitability.

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