¶ … discloses to the reader something of what happened during the era under discussion. But it also reveals at least as much about the era in which the history was written. What is considered significant enough to mention, what events are seen as causative rather than incidental, who are the true villains - all of these things may change from one generation's historical account to that of the next, and not because new facts have come to light.
The authors under consideration here ask us to reconsider the nature of history in general as well as to reexamine the particular places and times that they are writing about. They seek to use substitute key theoretical concepts for the traditional chronological structure of history, asking us to consider not what came after what but who had power over whom, and how these social relationships are the causative elements of (each) history.
Central to the work of the five historians examine here is the category of gender. Scott writes most analytically about it but each of the other four (even if more implicitly) incorporate and depend upon her definition of gender as something that is almost entirely - but not quite entirely - divorced from biological sex. Gender is for each of these authors a shorthand way that "natives" have of dividing the world into categories of power. And while in most cases the gendered category of woman is analogous to the category of powerless, the worlds investigated here demonstrate that history is not quite so neat. Certainly the gendered categories of male and female correlate with access to and denial of political power, but Caulfield and Guy especially demonstrate that women too have power.
While from our position in the postmodern West, we might be inclined to dismiss such traditional-within-a-patriarchal-culture female power as the guardianship of honor as being realistically related to any type of "real" power, Caulfield and Guy (and indeed all five historians) argue that this is too simplistic a reading of the ways in which gender and power interact.
What is most compelling about these narratives is their simultaneous ability to ask us to question the complex ways in which gender identity and power relations based on gender are continually renegotiated in these historical milieux while at the same time asking us to reexamine the entire enterprise of writing history.
Moreover, it is perhaps necessarily true that all history is teleological; after all, one is always writing it from what is at that moment the end-point of history. Thus historians, no matter how hard they may try not to be, are always in fact writing the same story, a story that begins at different points in the past certainly but that still and necessarily ends up with themselves, with us, with the here and now.
The entire practice of historiography would seem to argue that people seek to understand the past in some measure to shed light on the present, and as the needs and particularities of the present change so the historian looks at the past differently. This is not a question of political or other form of bias (although certainly different biases also shape the writing of history, as they do everything else). Rather, this is simply a truth about the practice of history.
Scott explores some of these issues vis-a-vis the subject of women in history, but her remarks have a far wider currency. She is here talking about "women's history," but her comments might be applied to any one area of history - Civil War history, for example, or the history of technology - as each subfield within history tries to come to terms with the challenges of postmodernism.
The production of this knowledge is marked by remarkable diversity in topic, method, and interpretations, so much so that it is impossible to reduce the field to a single interpretative or theoretical stance. Not only is there a vast array of topics to be studied, but in addition, on the one hand, many case studies, and on the other hand, large interpretive overviews, which neither address one another nor a similar set of questions.
The authors that we are studying here are certainly not afraid to plunge themselves into the complexities of different forms of discourse, to battle the intellectual dragons of postmodernism and feminism and deconstructionism with intelligence.
Even though in many ways they seem to have determined that there is no longer any legitimate way to create authoritative texts now that the Modernist age is over, they remain firm...
Based on the guiding research question, a deductive approach was deemed best suited for the purposes of the study proposed herein. Research Strategy The selection of an appropriate research strategy is important to the successful outcome of a study (Maxwell 1996). Based on a review of the available research strategies, the research strategy to be used in the proposed study will be to use a qualitative analysis of the secondary literature to
Introduction The historical review of supervision in schools starts in the colonial age when supervision of teaching methodology was done through the procedure of external scrutiny with local individuals appointed to review how the instructors had been teaching and how pupils had been learning. This particular format for assessment continues to be a benchmark in the process of supervision all through its evolution. Supervision only developed into a formal process within
Origins of Behaviorism Behaviorism, Its Historical origins, principles and contribution to the broader field of psychology Darwin (1809-1882) is the main scientist credited with evolutionary theory, and he was highly influential. In 1859/1985 he published The Origin of Species. This text proposed that evolution is inevitable and mechanical. He discussed the organism-environment adaptation, a precursor to the stimulus- response of behaviourism. He felt that his studies on plants and animals could
Female HUMINT Collectors Proposed Research Completion Schedule The proposed research is to be completed according to the following outline. The first draft of the initial thesis proposal is complete, as of 12/20/2014. A refined draft may be submitted, if required, by January 2, 2015 Initial Reference List The reference list for completing the proposal has been completed. However, an official search paper will be written, detailing the search strategies to be used -- including known
History Of Tooth Extraction From the 5th Century a paper history tooth extraction Greeks ( 5th century) till . The process if removing teeth from their dental sockets is referred to as tooth extraction (Vignoletti et al.). There are many reasons for extractions, but the most common reason is removal when teeth become unrestorable because of tooth decay, dental trauma, or periodontal disease. People result to tooth extraction when the mentioned conditions
He began to speak less formally, weaving his previously formulated questions into something that resembled a conversation. This led his interviewees to speak more candidly and with more self-reflection, moving beyond their celebrity images. Chirban's interactive interviewing required more empathy and listening skills on his part, but the trust that it established enabled him to enter the interviewee's world. The new relationship also allowed interviewees to reflect on their
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now