Historische Meinung

Rhetorik ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Gert Ueding
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Central Focus ◽  
The Past ◽  
Literary Forms ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Hayden White

Abstract Shortly before his ninetieth anniversary, one of the most pre-eminent American theorists of historiography in the second half of 20th century died: Hayden White (1928–2018). This article confronts White’s ideas on metahistory and the fundamental narrativity of historiography, which at least for the decades to follow have revolutionized the theory of history, with important scholarly sources from German intellectual history, such as Nietzsche, Bloch, Kracauer und Blumenberg, to conclude that the central focus of White’s thought-provoking theoretical experiment, to conceive of historiography as an interplay of four directional literary forms – romance, satire, comedy and tragedy –, grounded in the epistemology of the basic tropes (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche and irony), inadvertently induced a neglect of rhetoric in the scholarly enterprise of understanding the past and of finding argumentative plausibility and consensus in the dialogue of historiographic negotiation.

Historische Meinung

Rhetorik ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Gert Ueding
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Central Focus ◽  
The Past ◽  
Literary Forms ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Hayden White

Abstract Shortly before his ninetieth anniversary, one of the most pre-eminent American theorists of historiography in the second half of 20th century died: Hayden White (1928–2018). This article confronts White’s ideas on metahistory and the fundamental narrativity of historiography, which at least for the decades to follow have revolutionized the theory of history, with important scholarly sources from German intellectual history, such as Nietzsche, Bloch, Kracauer und Blumenberg, to conclude that the central focus of White’s thought-provoking theoretical experiment, to conceive of historiography as an interplay of four directional literary forms – romance, satire, comedy and tragedy –, grounded in the epistemology of the basic tropes (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche and irony), inadvertently induced a neglect of rhetoric in the scholarly enterprise of understanding the past and of finding argumentative plausibility and consensus in the dialogue of historiographic negotiation.

scholarly journals Ethan Kleinberg: Teoria da História como Fantologia

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (25) ◽  
Author(s):  
André Da Silva Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Emmanuel Levinas ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Stanford University ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Theory Of History

Ethan Kleinberg is Professor of History and Letters of Wesleyan University. He is the Director of the Center for Humanities and the Editor-in-Chief of History and Theory. His first book, Generation Existential: Heidegger’s Philosophy in France, 1927-1961, published by Cornell University Press, was awarded the 2006 Morris D. Forkosch prize for the best book in intellectual history, by the Journal of the History of Ideas. Recently, Professor Kleinberg co-edited with Ranjan Ghosh the volume Presence: Philosophy, History and Cultural Theory for the 21st Century, published by Cornell University Press as well. His book, Haunting History: For a Deconstructive Approach to the Past, will appear in the Meridian Series from Stanford University Press in Fall 2017. He is also finishing the book The Myth of Emmanuel Levinas, centered on the Talmudic Lectures that the French-Jewish philosopher presented in Paris between 1960 and 1990. I had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Professor Kleinberg in June 2016, when I was a Visiting Student Researcher in the Center for Humanities at Wesleyan University. We also took the advantage of the Second International Network for Theory of History conference (2nd INTH), that happened in Brazil at Ouro Preto from August 23 to August 26, to expand the interview.

scholarly journals INTRODUCTION: HISTORY FROM BETWEEN AND THE GLOBAL CIRCULATIONS OF THE PAST IN ASIA AND EUROPE, 1600–1950

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
LEIGH K. JENCO ◽  
JONATHAN CHAPPELL
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Subjective Feeling ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Introduction History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

Abstract This article argues for a ‘history from between’ as the best lens through which to understand the construction of historical knowledge between East Asia and Europe. ‘Between’ refers to the space framed by East Asia and Europe, but also to the global circulations of ideas in that space, and to the subjective feeling of embeddedness in larger-than-local contexts that being in such a space makes possible. Our contention is that the outcomes of such entanglements are not merely reactive forms of knowledge, of the kind implied by older studies of translation and reception in global intellectual history. Instead they are themselves ‘co-productions’: they are the shared and mutually interactive inputs to enduring modes of uses of the past, across both East Asian and European traditions. Taking seriously the possibility that interpretations of the past were not transferred, but rather were co-produced between East Asia and Europe, we reconstruct the braided histories of historical narratives that continue to shape constructions of identity throughout Eurasia.

Problems and Perspectives of Methodological Reflection (Using H. White, F. Braudel, and P. Bourdieu's Works as Examples)

Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8 (106)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Matvey Iakovlev
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Pierre Bourdieu ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Its Analysis ◽  
The Future ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Hayden White ◽  
Methodological Reflection ◽  
Fernand Braudel

The article deals with the problem of analyzing the methodology of historical research. The author dwells on three possible strategies of such an analysis, going back to the concepts of Hayden White, Pierre Bourdieu, and Fernand Braudel. All three concepts belong to the second half of the 20th century, a period when methodological reflection was actively developing, and although the theory of history has moved on since then, the author believes that an analysis of the classical works will make it possible to create a better methodological map on their basis in the future. The author believes that the problems of methodological reflexion raised in the article stimulate discussions about the methodology of historical research and the ways of its analysis.

scholarly journals Other Stories: Experimental Forms of Contemporary Historying at the Crossroads Between Facts and Fictions

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-15
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Sugiera
Keyword(s):  
New Wave ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Historical Discourse ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
The Past ◽  
Academic History ◽  
The Future ◽  
Rhetorical Dimension ◽  
Hayden White ◽  
Experimental History

Summary The process of questioning the authority of academic history—in the form in which it emerged at the turn of the 19th century—began in the 1970s, when Hayden White pointed out the rhetorical dimension of historical discourse. His British colleague Alun Munslow went a step further and argued that the ontological statuses of the past and history are so different that historical discourse cannot by any means be treated as representation of the past. As we have no access to that which happened, both historians and artists can only present the past in accordance with their views and opinions, the available rhetorical conventions, and means of expression. The article revisits two examples of experimental history which Munslow mentioned in his The Future of History (2010): Robert A. Rosenstone’s Mirror in the Shrine (1988) and Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht’s In 1926 (1997). It allows reassessing their literary strategies in the context of a new wave of works written by historians and novelists who go beyond the fictional/factual dichotomy. The article focuses on Polish counterfactual writers of the last two decades, such as Wojciech Orliński, Jacek Dukaj, and Aleksander Głowacki. Their novels corroborate the main argument of the article about a turn which has been taking place in recent experimental historying: the loss of previous interest in formal innovations influenced by modernist avant-garde fiction. Instead, it concentrates on demonstrating the contingency of history to strategically extend the unknowability of the future or the past(s) and, as a result, change historying into speculative thinking.

scholarly journals Virantanaz – an epic in Vepsian? About the first attempt at an epic

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-174
Author(s):  
Nina Zaitseva
Keyword(s):  
Language And Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Literary Forms ◽  
The People ◽  
Key Aspects

The paper is a brief account of the events of the past 20 years, which have been essential for the fate of the Veps, and brought the author, who found herself in the very heart of the processes of Vepsian language and culture revival, to the idea of creating the epic. Can one create an epic in the language of a people (Vepsians in our case) whose memory has preserved no epic-style pieces of literature, no large oral literary forms, whose folklore heritage is not so rich, the nation itself is a minority, and its language is already red-listed? Or should one? Writing the work was a chance to retrieve from the people’s memory many facts, real or imaginary events, rituals, customs and legends, melodious idioms and sayings, which might help revitalise the people, its language and culture. The paper demonstrates the folklore and mythological background of the epic, represents and substantiates the key aspects of the style poetics, its folk heritage roots.

scholarly journals Franco-Prussian campaign of 1870-1871 in perception of the novice British war correspondent A. Forbes

2020 ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Aleksei Vlasov
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Object Description ◽  
The Past ◽  
Personal Attitudes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Journalistic Practice

The object of this article is professional activity of the British war correspondent Archibald Forbes during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The subject is the perception and reflection of military realities (1870-1871) by the novice journalist. The goal consists in determination of the mechanisms of perception of participants and realities of the Franco-Prussian confrontation of 1870-1871 by the British correspondent A. Forbes. Intellectual history and imagological approach comprise the methodological framework of this research. Based on the analysis of documentary evidence left by A. Forbes, which describes the events of 1870-1871, the author was able to trace the evolution of Forbes’ perception of the Franco-Prussian campaign of 1870-1871. The conclusion is made on gradual changes in Forbe’s perception and reflection of war realities. The initial admiration was replaced by the professional subject-object description. However, his stance on parties to the conflict remained unchanged. The author assumes that A. Forbes had particular personal attitudes, but his perception of the war of 1870-1871 has evolved. The acquired results may be valuable in studying journalistic practice, as well as mutual perception of European ethnoses. The scientific novelty lies in a comprehensive approach towards the phenomenon at hand: the author examines not only the mechanisms of perception as such, but also their transformation influenced by various factors. This research made a transition from the widespread study of biographies and activity of correspondents of the XIX century to an extensive culturological and intellectual approach in consideration of professional practice of journalists of the past.

scholarly journals History and Historiography in Early Christian Ireland

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (33) ◽  
pp. 197-227
Author(s):  
Dominique Santos
Keyword(s):  
Early Christian ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Bilingual Literacy

Despite modern writers noticing the importance of Premodern historiographical phenomena for a deeper comprehension of both Theory of History and History of Historiography, the Irish contribution to the subject is often left aside. Topics such as the Seanchas Tradition and Medieval Irish Classicism are not well integrated into such historiographical narrative. The Seanchaidh, the Irish Artifex of the Past, for example, is broadly mentioned as not a historian, but a chronicler, antiquary, genealogist, hagiographer or pedigree systematizer. This article addresses these issues and, more specifically, we focus on two Irish narratives produced in 7th century by Muirchú and Tírechán. Since they belong to the world of orality and bilingual literacy of Early Christian Ireland, perhaps their works could be understood as bounded by the Seanchas Tradition and Medieval Irish Classicism, hence, both could be considered as great examples of the producers of History and Historiography at the time.

WHEN THE PRESENT MISUNDERSTANDS THE PAST HOW A MODERN ARAB INTELLECTUAL RECLAIMED HIS OWN HERITAGE

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Tahiri
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
The West ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
The Past ◽  
Intellectual Elite ◽  
Knowledge Tradition ◽  
Historical Relationship ◽  
Modern Arabic ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractThe beginning of the 20th century has witnessed a significant development that has renewed and stimulated the long passionate historical relationship between two great civilisations which are traditionally known as the West and the East. Following their ancestors who cultivated the quest for knowledge tradition, some Arab scholars have come to leading European countries to learn the latest advancement in knowledge. They did not expect they would be confronted with what seems to be the poor showing of their scientific and cultural heritage according to the assessment that was carried out in the previous century by Western scholars and historians. The Western study of the Eastern heritage had such influence that it has generated new Arab intellectual elite which blames the past for the present difficulties. Following the discovery of major scientific Arabic works in the second half of the 20th century, some Arab scholars like Ibrahim Madkour realised that they had in fact just misunderstood their own tradition. What is the source of their misunderstanding? How did they become aware of it? And how can a better understanding of the past change present attitudes and guide future actions? By attempting to provide some answers to such questions, the aim of this paper is to shed light on what seems to be a turning point in modern Arabic intellectual history.

“I Know I Can’t Change the Future, But I Can Change the Past”: Toni Morrison, Robin Coste Lewis, and the Classical Tradition

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-356
Author(s):  
Grace McGowan
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Classical Tradition ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Toni Morrison ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Black Female ◽  
Central Figure ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Generation

Abstract “A central figure in transnational intellectual history” (Roynon, 2013), Toni Morrison’s oeuvre has helped deconstruct the triangulated relationship between a European Graeco-Roman classical tradition, Africa, and America. Morrison’s deconstruction of the classical past and its aesthetics have laid the foundation for the reconstructive work of a new generation of writers, including Robin Coste Lewis. Both writers renegotiate and reclaim a classical aesthetic by recovering its African roots and situating it in an African American context. In addition, the article (1) examines the role of a classical aesthetic in beauty discourse and Robin Coste Lewis’s re-vision of the black female body and (2) addresses what this means for canonicity, linking Lewis’s ambivalence about reclaiming a classical aesthetic to Morrison’s ambivalence in “Unspeakable Things Unspoken” (1987).

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