Rc 0.1.b.intro.history
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Introductory material for a university course in media history by Prof. Bill Kovarik, based on the book Revolutions in Communication: Media History from Gutenberg to the Digital Age (Bloomsbury, 2nd ed., 2015).
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Rc 0.1.b.intro.history
- 1. Media History from Gutenberg to the Digital Age Slides based on the Bloomsbury book by Bill Kovarik Revolutions in Communication About History -- #2
- 2. Web site & textbook Textbook: 1st edition – 2011 2nd edition – 2016 http://www.revolutionsincommunication.com
- 3. In this lecture, we’ll discuss… Approaches to history Great historians Issues in history – Objectivity, determinism, whig history, etc. Some of the branches of history
- 4. What is history? The memory of civilization Active investigation of what happened, and what we can learn, from the past From the Greek, ἱστορία - historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation.”
- 5. History is one of the humanities Humanities are the study of human culture They include language, literature, philosophy, religion, law and similar academic disciplines History is critical – Historians ask broad questions – who and when and where, but also why and how … History is (or should be) factual – It relies on accurate transmission of
- 6. History is NOT … A science or a social science A permanent repository of facts Useless memorization of dates Only concerned with “great men” and “great machines” Only concerned with Europe & USA
- 7. Clio: Muse of history First among the nine muses of Greek mythology Often represented with a parchment scroll or a set of tablets. The name is from the root κλέω, "recount" or "make famous”.
- 8. Visualizing history History, by Frederick Dielman, 1896 from the US Library of Congress, Washington DC
- 9. Motives of great historians: Herodotus (484–420 BCE) preserve the memory of great heroes Thucydides (460–400 BCE) learn the lessons of the past as a guide to the future Heroditus and Thucydides
- 10. Why is history important? Children pump water in Wilder, Tennessee, 1942. Note extra buckets left on the platform for priming the pump. (TVA photo) A metaphor: Hand powered water pumps won’t start unless there is a little water poured in on top. That is to “prime” the pump. In order to understand who we are and where we are going, we need to understand our past. We need to prime the pump of change with an understanding of history.
- 11. Why is history important? ◦ George Santayana (1863–1952), American ◦ “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
- 12. Why is history important? ◦ H.G. Wells (1866–1946), historian, science fiction writer ◦ “History is a race between education and catastrophe”
- 13. Great historians: David Hume (1711-1776) History of Britain from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution of 1688. (written 1754–62) Definitive interpretation of British history glorified the monarchy but in a sometimes ironic and witty manner. Edward Gibbon (1737 -1794) History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (written 1776 – 1788). One of the most famous early modern works of history, used primary sources and worked for accuracy. Main motive was to understand the fall of an empire so that the fall of the British empire could be averted.
- 14. Not so great historians: Parson Weems (1759- 1825) Live of Washington and other “hagiographies” (biographies of saints) Origin of now disproved cherry tree story Thomas Carlyle (1791 - 1881) The French Revolution (written 1837). Inspired “Tale of Two Cities.” Quirky, ideosyncratic history. Also: “History is nothing but the biography of the great man.”
- 15. Can history be objective? Leopold Von Ranke (German 1795–1886) Historians should take a fact-based empirical approach and report “the way things really were.”
- 16. Issues in history Objectivity – Is it possible? Determinism – Are the outcomes predetermined? Chronological snobbery – Were things really better (or worse) in the past? Historian’s fallacy ◦ projecting present knowledge on the past ◦ not recognizing fog of history Revisionism ◦ Re-consideration of orthodox views (sometimes negative, not always) Presentism / Whig history
- 17. Is history objective? Allan Nevins (1890 – 1971) American journalist, worked with Walter Lippmann at Pulitzer’s World newspaper “History is never above the melee. It is not allowed to be neutral, but forced to enlist in every army…”
- 18. Is history objective? Arnold J. Toynbee (Br. econ. Historian 1889 – 1975) A Study of History (written 1934–61) “Universal history” Patterns of 26 civilizations are similar, predictable Creative elites lead change Broad-gauge history was a major influence on media historian Harold
- 19. Is history objective? Lord John Acton (1834 – 1902) ◦ Highly influenced by Macaulay ◦ “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” ◦ Historians must apply moral judgments
- 20. Is history objective? Benedetto Croce (Italian - 1866–1952) History should be "philosophy in motion.” Reacting to Von Ranke and Toynbee, Croce said there is no great "cosmic design" or ultimate plan in history. The "science of history" is a farce, he thought.
- 21. Is history objective? Eugin Weber (1925 – 2007) Romanian-American historian Modernization theory “History is the dressing room of politics…” "The world has always been disgracefully managed, but now (1989) you no longer know to whom to complain."
- 22. Is history objective? Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989) American Guns of August, Proud Tower, First Salute, Stilwell and the American Experience in China, Tuchman’s Law: "Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous whereas it is more likely to have been sporadic both in time and place. … The fact of being reported multiplies the apparent extent of any deplorable development…”
- 23. Is history objective? “History is furious debate informed by evidence and reason, not just answers to be learned. Textbooks encourage students to believe that history is just learning facts… No wonder (it) turns students off!” Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong -- James W. Loewen
- 24. Time – related historical terms Chronological – In order of occurrence Anachronic -- against flow of time ◦ (Ex: Mad Men Anachronisms) Synchronic – at same time ◦ (Ex: synchronize clocks) Diachronic – through time ◦ (Ex: diachronic linguistics is the study of language change over time)
- 25. Historical method 1 Comparative & critical method ◦ Not experimental like sciences ◦ Research in archives, interviews with subjects, ◦ “query” data & verify facts ◦ Critical approach to when, where, by whom, who else, what medium, ◦ Concern with source integrity & credibility
- 26. Historical method 2 Duty to truth and accuracy ◦ Preference for eyewitness accounts, original documents, ◦ Journalism is “first rough draft” of history; but history is more than the second draft of journalism Precise answers are elusive Looking for insights & explanations Producing narrative & analysis
- 27. ‘Whig’ history Thomas Macaulay (British 1800 – 1859) History of England A political Whig (reformer), Macaulay put liberalism, reform and public service at the center of British history. The “Progressive History” approach was widely adopted in UK and US Herbert Butterfield The Whig Interpretation of History (1931) pointed to Macaulay as an example of Whig history. Butterfield was skeptical of “presentism,” that is, seeing the past through the lens of the present. Macaulay hoped to present the British people with “… A true picture of the life of their ancestors.”
- 28. What’saWhig? A political party in Britain (1670s – 1860s) that favored Parliament over the monarchy, free trade, religious tolerance, abolition of slavery and expansion of voting rights. Whigs became the labor party in the 1860s. (Opposition was the Tories, favor monarchy, tradition). Whig history is about history that favors the idea of progress.
- 29. WhigHistoryintheUSA American progress, John Gast, 1872
- 30. WhigHistoryexample Progress in public relations history: P.T. Barnum & ballyhoo PR ◦ Mid-19th century Ivy Lee & press agency PR ◦ Early 20th century Edward Bernais & scientific public info ◦ Mid-20th century James Grunig & 2-way symmetrical flow ◦ Late 20th century
- 31. People’s history Howard Zinn (1922 – 2010) People’s History of the United States “History is invoked because nobody can say what history really has ordained for you, just as nobody can say what God has ordained for you…” SocialHistory
- 32. African-American history People who have been ignored until recent generations Major contributions Struggle for equality reflects America at its best and worst Influences on civil rights (Gandhi, Tolstoy) Influenced others (Mandella, Tum, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial, Aug. 28, 1963. SocialHistory
- 33. Women’s history Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of British movement for women’s suffrage, 1913. Early non-violent movement Major contributions that had been ignored Struggle for equality reflects the world at its best and worst SocialHistory
- 34. Environmental history US President Teddy Roosevelt, a “wise use” advocate, and Sierra Club founder John Muir, a preservationist, at Yosemite National Park, May, 1903 Conservation Public health Technology regulation Subject is not new but as an historical discipline it is still emerging SocialHistory
- 35. End of history ? Francis Fukuyama (1952–present) / also Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) End of the idea of progress Abandonment of utopian visions from right- and left-wing political ideologies
- 36. Review: People Heroditus & Thucydides Edward Gibbon George Santayana Leopold Von Ranke H.G. Wells Barbara Tuchman Arnold Toynbee Lord John Acton Herbert Butterfield Howard Zinn Francis Fukuyama
- 37. Review: Issues Who is Clio? Who says history is important? Who says history is objective? Who says history is NOT objective? What are some historical myths? What are some historical problems? What is ‘Whig history’ ? What are some new cultural histories? Why is history “ending”?
- 38. Next: Chapter 0.1c Introduction to history of media
Hinweis der Redaktion
- It’s always a little surprising to me that courses in history so often just dive right into the subject matter, neglecting any discussion about historians, historical issues or the aspects of history that let us step back and maintain a critical perspective.
- This image is Historia – 1892 – by Greek painter Nikolaos Gyzis
- The figure of History, in the mosaic's center, holds a pen and book. Clio, muse of history, one of 9 muses. On both sides of her, there are tablets mounted in a marble wall with benches on either side of the tablets. The tablets contain the names of great historians. One tablet contains the names of the ancient historians Herodotus and Thucydides in brighter gold, followed by Polybius, Livy, Tacitus, Bæda, Comines. The other tablet contains the name of the modern historians Hume and Gibbon in brighter gold, along with Niebuhr, Guizot, Ranke, and the Americans Bancroft and Motley. At the foot of one of the tablets is a laurel wreath symbolizing peace, and at the foot of the second tablet is an oak wreath symbolizing war. A palm branch designating success rests against the wreaths and tablets. The female figure on one side of History is Mythology. As the symbol of the theories of the universe, she holds a globe of the earth in her left hand. The Greeks' female sphinx to her right represents the eternally insoluble Riddle of the World. Tradition, the aged woman seated on the other side of History, represents medieval legend and folk tales. She is shown in the midst of relating her old wives' tales to the young boy seated before her. The distaff in her lap, the youth with a harp in his hand (a reference to the wandering minstrel of the Middle Ages), and the shield are reminders of a past age. The mosaic includes ancient buildings from the three nations of antiquity with highly developed histories: an Egyptian pyramid, a Greek temple, and a Roman ampitheater. 4Along with the mosaic panel representing Law above the north fireplace, this mosaic was prepared in Venice, Italy and sent to the Jefferson Building to be put into place. Both mosaics were made of pieces, or tesserae, which were fitted together to provide subtle gradations in color.(Much of the preceding text is derived from the Library of Congress's virtual tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building.)
- T said of H: To hear this history rehearsed, for that there be inserted in it no fables, shall be perhaps not delightful. But he that desires to look into the truth of things done, and which (according to the condition of humanity) may be done again, or at least their like, shall find enough herein to make him think it profitable. And it is compiled rather for an everlasting possession than to be rehearsed for a prize.
- This is a little obvious, perhaps even trite. But it’s a fairly good metaphor about why history tends to be important to people. And here’s a song by John McCutcheon about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUeEvMSlpFI&list=ALBTKoXRg38BCnuENfQbv8Yfvvv2rWLaKK Water from another time -- It don’t take much but you gotta have some, the old ways help the new ways come, leave a little extra for the next in line, water from another time.
- This is the most obvious and well-known cliché about history.
- Not as well known but also sort of obvious. We’ll hear more from H.G. Wells when it comes to Chapter 11, envisioning the internet.
- Hume was a beloved Scottish historian and philosopher who defended the free press. Gibbon, of course, was looking for lessons for the emerging British empire as he wrote the history of the Roman empire.
- Both of these historians larded their own quirky personal perspectives into their narratives, which is one of the reasons we have the emergence of Von Ranke’s notion that history should be objective (aka positivistic or scientific).
- Vie est eisenshaft gvessen -- The way things really were. So taking this perspective on history, any account of the battle of Waterloo by German, French or British historian would be pretty much the same. But actually, French and German and British historians are naturally going to see the rise and impact of Napoleon quite differently. It’s also interesting to note that Von Ranke’s history of the Protestant Reformation makes almost no mention of printing. So the strictly positivistic or scientific view of history can have its limits.
- These labels represent ideas or issues or modes of thinking about history This is not a list of good or bad things, but things to be aware of when we look at history Historicism is the idea that you cant understand something without understanding its context. So for historians its generally good. Historicism was attacked by a philosopher of science named Karl Popper for pretending to understand “inexorable laws of historical destiny – But that’s determinism. There’s an argument about what Popper intended with his “poverty of historicism” attack but I think it had to do with what he saw as the need for a less relative and more positivistic approach to history. Determinism is when something is seen as a major factor in determining history. So when McLuhan says the Medium is the Message, for example, he’s saying the medium is determining the message. In that sense he was a strong determinist. Others who say the medium influences the message might be weak determinists. Chronological snobbery – Ex “Things were better when we were young, let me tell you, whippersnappers.” (Or, typical variation: “Things were harder when we were young, you don’t know how good you have it.”) Either way, if you’re young, you are getting the tail end of chronological snobbery. Historians fallacy is not like presentism / whig history / Historians fallacy is when we assume that THEY (in the past) knew what we know now. In effect it ignores the fog of war. Presentism (whig history) is when WE assume that there is an inevitability in the past. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historian%27s_fallacy Fog of war: Douglas Southall Freeman bio Robt E Lee used fog of war as factor in many of Lees decisions, especially for instance the order for Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg Revisionism – Re-consideration of orthodox views (sometimes negative, but not usually) Reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event. Though the word revisionism is sometimes used in a negative way, for instance: Holocaust denial is one form of revisionism that is viewed very negatively, and with good reason. History should always be open to evidence – based challenges. Constant debate and challenges are part of the normal scholarly process. But the evidence fails in Holocaust denialism, so the attempt to revise history also fails. For really interested students, the David Irving / Deborah Lipstadt trial of 2000 is an interesting episode in denialism. Whig history is next http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_%28literary_and_historical_analysis%29
- Among the progressive era historians, the idea of a moral history was becoming important. Nevins was noted for his biography of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller and his history of the Civil War.
- We’ll hear more about Innis in the next chapter.
- Among the progressive era historians, the idea of a moral history was important.
- The “science” of history he’s reacting to is that of Von Ranke but also predictable history from (for example) Arnold J. Toynbee Also Croce did not agree with John Locke about the nature of liberty. Croce believed that liberty is not a natural right but an earned right that arises out of continuing historical struggle for its maintenance.
- Weber became interested in history when, as a boy in Romania, he became aware of social injustices: "It was my vague dissatisfaction with social hierarchy, the subjection of servants and peasants, the diffuse violence of everyday life in relatively peaceful country amongst apparently gentle folk". A 2010 biography by Stanford Franklin, "Eugen Weber The Greatest Historian of our Times: Lessons of Greatness to the Future" presents Weber's life and works in positive terms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Weber Weber is associated with several important academic arguments. His book: "Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France 1870-1914", for instance, is a classic presentation of modernization theory. Although other historians such as Henri Mendras had put forward similar theories about the modernization of the French countryside, Weber's book was amongst the first to focus on changes in the period between 1870 and 1914. Weber emphasizes that well into the 19th century few French citizens regularly spoke French, but rather regional languages or dialects such as Breton, Gascon, Basque, Catalan, Flemish, Alsatian, and Corsican. Even in French-speaking areas provincial loyalties often transcended the putative bond of the nation. Between 1870 and 1914, Weber argued, a number of new forces penetrated the previously isolated countryside. These included the judicial and school systems, the army, the church, railways, roads, and a market economy. The result was the wholesale transformation of the population from "peasants," basically ignorant of the wider nation, to Frenchmen.
- Like Acton, Tuchman is a moralistic historian. Here she’s pointing out what I like to call the Hubble Bias – Which is, when you point a powerful telescope at any part of the sky previously thought empty, you will find new galaxies. In 1985, Saturday Review magazine named Tuchman one of the country's "Most Overrated People in American Arts and Letters," commenting that "over the years [she has made] an unhappy transition from writing history as a moral lesson to writing moral lessons as history.” This is not really fair, given that many of the best historians have underlying motivations and (as a matter of transparency) do not disguise them.
- In recent years, many historians have moved away from objective and progressive national histories, focusing instead on cultural history or other smaller topics. Cultural history might involve the history of ideas, history of technology, women’s history, black history, environmental history and many others not yet explored. Yet history as a discipline, as Novick has noted, has not moved any closer towards a resolution of the fragmentation.
- For example, the TV series Mad Med is set in the 1950s and 60s, but there are anachronisms that show up -- http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/18-mad-men-anachronisms-spotted-by-the-internet.html
- But is objectivity really the problem? What we call Whig history today honors the heroes, emphasizes progress, ignores the roads not taken, de-emphasizes minorities, and generally glorifies the inevitable present. Whig history is what happens when the winners get to write history. Macaulay’s history was biased towards progress and liberalism – Butterfield didn’t think that was a bad thing, but he wanted people to understand the method was flawed and not very critical. Quote from Macaulay: I should very imperfectly execute the task which I have undertaken if I were merely to treat of battles and sieges, of the rise and fall of administrations, of intrigues in the palace, and of debates in the parliament. It will be my endeavour to relate the history of the people as well as the history of the government, to trace the progress of useful and ornamental arts, to describe the rise of religious sects and the changes of literary taste, to portray the manners of successive generations and not to pass by with neglect even the revolutions which have taken place in dress, furniture, repasts, and public amusements. I shall cheerfully bear the reproach of having descended below the dignity of history, if I can succeed in placing before the English of the nineteenth century a true picture of the life of their ancestors. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1468/1468-h/1468-h.htm Also, Macaulay was aware of the problem / There are two opposite errors into which those who study the annals of our country are in constant danger of falling, the error of judging the present by the past, and the error of judging the past by the present. The former is the error of minds prone to reverence whatever is old, the latter of minds readily attracted by whatever is new. The former error may perpetually be observed in the reasonings of conservative politicians on the questions of their own day. The latter error perpetually infects the speculations of writers of the liberal school when they discuss the transactions of an earlier age. The former error is the more pernicious in a statesman, and the latter in a historian. (The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 2)
- This illustration by James Gilray, May 5, 1783 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gillray (The name Whig derives from a derogatory nickname for Scottish parliamentarians, whiggamores, which meant cattle drivers.) Cartoon shows a carousel on which sit government ministers Charles Fox, Lord North, Edmund Burke and Admiral Keppel. Beam in the center of the carousel platform is a pillar topped by a bust of King George III, a wig and Union Jack suspended over the bust. In the background two robbers lower a large bundle from the window of a building. An inscription above the cartoon reads "Poor John Bull's house plunder'd at noon day.” W. Humphrey, 1783 May 5th. Puns include wig for Whig and block for the device for beheading, the head-shaped device for forming wigs, and blockhead as in stupid person. Burke is dressed as a Jesuit, is reading from Sublime and Beautiful, and has a skeleton for a leg. (The name Tory derives from tóraí, an insulting Irish term for brigand.)
- This is an example of a view of American history that is Whiggish – That is, it depicts positive, inevitable progress, it ignores problems (note the Indians and buffalo fleeing …) Questions: Where is this? (Manhattan island background Brooklyn Bridge) Was there telegraph service or railroads across the US at this time? Notes on this painting: “ As students begin to describe what they see, they quickly realize that they’re looking at a kind of historical encyclopedia of transportation technologies. The simple Indian travois precedes the covered wagon and the pony express, the overland stage and the three railroad lines. The static painting thus conveys a vivid sense of the passage of time as well as of the inevitability of technological progress. The groups of human figures, read from left to right, convey much the same idea. Indians precede Euro-American prospectors, who in turn come before the farmers and settlers. The idea of progress coming from the East to the West, and the notion that the frontier would be developed by sequential waves of people (here and in Turner’s configuration, always men) was deeply rooted in American thought.” -- Martha A. Sandweiss, Amherst College http://picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/item.php?item_id=180
- The “progress” of public relations is a good example of “whig” history -- Each of these approaches to public relations is theoretically better than the previous one, and each major example is found chronologically after the previous one, so by linking them together, we imply a chain of causality where none may actually exist. Are there people still practicing ballyhoo today? (Yes) Do we still have press agents? (Yes) Was there “scientific” public relations (using opinion polls and psychological strategies) earlier than the 1930s? (There’s an argument that the women’s suffrage movement used advanced public relations tactics). And what about Thurlow Weed and the use of scientific public relations during the Civil War? So are we looking at a range of approaches used in many time frames rather than an historical progression?
- In recent years, many historians have moved away from semi-objective and progressive national histories, focusing instead on cultural history or other topics. Cultural history might involve the history of ideas, history of technology, women’s history, black history, environmental history and many others not yet explored. For Howard Zinn, the object of a good historian was to untwist the already politicized uses of history and to present history at the human level. For instance, the idea that we celebrated Columbus day, without mention of the well known cruelty to the Caribbean Indian tribes, needed to be challenged, he thought. Today, thanks to Zinn, it is hard to imagine the discovery of America and at the same time ignore the way Indians were treated.
- One of the great social histories of our time involves the emergence of Africa Americans into full citizenship. The press and the rest of the media had an important role documenting and interpreting the difficult struggle for equality and respect.
- Another group of people demanding respect and full citizenship also appeared often in the press and media, and many women in the press and media are still overlooked today in history despite their very significant roles.
- Not only did the press and media have important roles to play in explaining public health and conservation controversies, media coverage is sometimes the most important key for historians looking into environmental history today.
- Have we come to the end of the idea of progress? Is progress the most important component of history? Its possible to argue either proposition both ways.