Postmodernism in History
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Author Topic: Postmodernism in History  (Read 583 times)
Filuwaúrdjan
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« on: April 11, 2011, 09:47:51 PM »
« edited: April 11, 2011, 10:13:46 PM by Comrade Sibboleth »

If we can't have serious discussions here, we can at least have deranged and flippant discussions about serious issues.

So.

Is (was? It's all very 1980s IMO) postmodernism (within the specific context of the historical profession) a valuable breakthrough in our understanding of the past (in that it dictates that we cannot understand the past), or vacuous bluster favoured by despicable posers and shrieking frauds?
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The Mikado
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« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2011, 10:10:32 PM »

Qualified yes.  It provided a powerful tool for showing the flaws with previous generations' research and, when used properly, can supplement older texts without destroying what made them valuable in the first place.  I'm thinking of Joan Scott, at the moment, especially her essay about E. P. Thompson.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2011, 04:49:45 PM »

Qualified yes.  It provided a powerful tool for showing the flaws with previous generations' research and, when used properly, can supplement older texts without destroying what made them valuable in the first place.  I'm thinking of Joan Scott, at the moment, especially her essay about E. P. Thompson.

Most postmodernists would argue that when used for such purposes it is not being used properly.

I think you have a point though; personally I detest it, but it does mean that historians have had to think about the theoretical side of their work (and theory is unavoidable in an abstract discipline) in order to attack it which, in turn, generally leads to better work.
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