10-18-2004, 12:19 PM
I believe there are two different things: 1) History the science and 2) The national narrative.
History the science is like any other science an investigative reconstruction of the past. So I believe there are no other principles beyond the basic scientific principles in doing history, when it is pursued as a science.
The national narrative on the other hand is a narrative by which the people of a nation conceive their tradition. All civilized and "uncivilized" cultures have had this. It is the Ithas-Puran for India. The other nations of the world we may see narratives like: Secret History, Gesta Danorum, the Sagas, Kalevala, the early kings of Rum, Shah Nameh etc. They are commonly cloaked in mythology which is dependent on the mythological prelidictions of the people whose narrative it is.
After Christianization, the narratives in the West have tended center themselves on the basic Semitic or Abrahamic narrative with an angle of Abrahamizing the whole world. One god- one president- one "correct" system, universal democracy is all a part of this. In the more recent times the left-leaning academics in the Anglo-Saxon world have tended to engage "Deconstructing" these narratives due these being at odds with their own Marxist trans-national narrative. The Anglo-Saxon foreigns policy makers decided to make the most of these windy academics by turn them towards the "deconstruction" of the narratives of other nations. There by they kill two birds with a stone.
The net result is we see a profound confusion between narratives and histories among the people who are being targetted for this action.
History the science is like any other science an investigative reconstruction of the past. So I believe there are no other principles beyond the basic scientific principles in doing history, when it is pursued as a science.
The national narrative on the other hand is a narrative by which the people of a nation conceive their tradition. All civilized and "uncivilized" cultures have had this. It is the Ithas-Puran for India. The other nations of the world we may see narratives like: Secret History, Gesta Danorum, the Sagas, Kalevala, the early kings of Rum, Shah Nameh etc. They are commonly cloaked in mythology which is dependent on the mythological prelidictions of the people whose narrative it is.
After Christianization, the narratives in the West have tended center themselves on the basic Semitic or Abrahamic narrative with an angle of Abrahamizing the whole world. One god- one president- one "correct" system, universal democracy is all a part of this. In the more recent times the left-leaning academics in the Anglo-Saxon world have tended to engage "Deconstructing" these narratives due these being at odds with their own Marxist trans-national narrative. The Anglo-Saxon foreigns policy makers decided to make the most of these windy academics by turn them towards the "deconstruction" of the narratives of other nations. There by they kill two birds with a stone.
The net result is we see a profound confusion between narratives and histories among the people who are being targetted for this action.