Book Description
What legitimate form can history take when faced by the severe challenges issued in recent years by literary, rhetorical, multiculturalist, and feminist theories? That is the question considered in this long-awaited and pathbreaking book. Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr., addresses the essential practical concern of contemporary historians; he offers a way actually to go about reading and writing histories in light of the many contesting theories.
Berkhofer ranges through a vast archive of recent writings by a broad range of authors. He explicates the opposing paradigms and their corresponding dilemmas by presenting in dialogue form the positions of modernists and postmodernists, formalists and deconstructionists, textualists and contextualists. Poststructuralism, the New Historicism, the New Anthropology, the New Philosophy of History--these and many other approaches are illuminated in new ways in these comprehensive, interdisciplinary explorations.
From them, Berkhofer arrives at a clear vision of the forms historical discourse might take, advocates a new approach to historical criticism, and proposes new forms of historical representation that encompass multiculturalism, poetics, and reflexive (con)textualization. He elegantly blends traditional and new methodology; assesses what the "revival of the narrative" actually entails; considers the politics of disciplinary frameworks; and derives coherent new approaches to writing, teaching, reviewing, and reading histories.
Customer Reviews:
On the (F)utility of Postmodern History.......2003-02-16
I apologize for the title of this review but it gets at some of my reaction to this book. Consider the following quote from the final chapter: "A new form of reflexive history would resolve the dilemma by...seeking to operate in the conceptual spaces posed by the contradictions between textualism and contextualism, between social and rhetorical construction of reality, between normal history and metahistory." (p.266)
I consider this quote important because Berkhofer is actually trying to practice what he preaches in his writing in this book. He is summarizing the results of the critical work done in history in the last thirty or so years by at least two major schools of criticism. The schools are (roughly) 1. deconstructionist (or textualist or rhetorical) and 2. oppositionist (which includes social constructionist or multicultural or feminist critiques).
The critical approaches are as rough on each other as they are on what Berkhofer calls normal history, i.e., history as practiced by professional historians. Therein lies the rub. Berkhofer is not trying to sort out the arguments for us. He points out all the possible ramifications of these critical schools he can think of in regard to a particular topic and does not really even indicate which he thinks is the most correct.
Berkhofer wants readers and historians to start thinking deeply about the way they construct histories. He wants us to examine the rhetoric employed to express arguments or to emplot narrative, to what extent history is shaped by the institutional practices or the politics of the profession, what theory of social groups or of individuals does the author use and what is the author's theory of time (cyclical, degenerative, progressive, pastiche, etc.). What is the author's epistemology, how does s/he see the structure of power within both their own culture and the one they are writing about (are they liberal, radical, republican, conservative and how does that reflect on the history they write)? As a personal aside, if you think this is not an issue with truly professional historians then you should read some in the liberal/republican/protestant debate that rages about the Revolutionary and/or Federalist periods in American history.
The above is about one third of the issues that Berkhofer feels that historians and their readers need to start thinking deeply about if we are to face up to the challenges presented by the critical schools mentioned above. Along the way, he summarizes the work of dozens of scholars and practices some of the type of reflexive criticism he is suggesting on many others. However, he very much leaves open the avenues that "reflexive history" should explore. The last thing he wants to do is impose his own hegemonic regime on the new field.
I have a mixed reaction to the book. I have learned quite a bit from it. I am going to make a conscious effort to read histories in the future in some of the ways he suggests to see how helpful or revealing it is.
However, it is also an annoying book. It is full of jargon (how many times do we have to see hi/story to get the point?), it could have used an editor that read it a little more closely and ultimately I think Berkhofer should also have let us know his own thoughts on many of the issues between the contextualists and the textualists. He has no trouble letting us know the inadequacies of liberal pragmatist historians like Thomas Haskell or James Kloppenberg. Why not do the same for Hutcheon, Rooney, Carrard, de Certeau, White, etc.? He is fond of suggesting the use of different typefaces as a means of demarcating different voices in a text. Perhaps he could do the same in his own book- one allowing for the "spaces of contradictions" in the arguments of others and another for his own thought?
One final thought- somewhere in the book, Berkhofer tells us the story of a Native American student of his who refused to read an assigned text because the author referred to the theory that the ancestors of the American Indians came across the Bering Straits thousand of years ago. This did not jibe with what he had been taught in the creation myths of his heritage. The student felt that if the author got that wrong, how could he be trusted at all? To which I say- too bad. Am I supposed to include everybody's creation myth (including the Bible) each time I write a text of evolutionary theory? We do not all have the responsibility to preserve everybody's traditions. At some point all we have to do is say what we ourselves think.
This is not a book for everybody. Most casual readers of history do not need to read it. In spite of one of the reviewers below, you will not be washed aside (by what-the vanguard of the radical deconstructionist historians?). Those of us who do like to read our histories critically, with a suspicious eye, would do well to study this book. It is a difficult and annoying read but I, for one, have not read anyone else who raises so many important issues in one volume.
History and us.......2001-11-02
If the term "discourse" is jargon to the previous reviewer, he is bound to find precious little to read in the area of scholarly thought since the Saussure-to-Foucalt-to-White infield lined up to bat; and if he is a historian who is choosing not to pay attention to the dialogue into which Dr. Berkhoffer is here inserting himself, then he is bound to be washed aside in very short order. If he were interested in a pursuit of history and went in search of critical focus, methods and language adequate to the task, then he might see that the book which he so harshly renounces constitutes considerable progress in that direction. "Jargon", it would seem, has become the new catch-phrase of choice among those for whom the pace of erudition has become too ambitious.
getting to the heart of the story of history.......2000-06-22
I must disagree with the above reviewer; despite the fact that Berkhofer uses terms such as "discourse", which is a perfectly valid term of analysis if properly discussed, this is not a boring book it all. It is NOT a history, but rather a discussion of historiography and the theoretical and discursive underpinnings of the practice of history. Berkhofer is trying to outline how histories are constructed, and how the contours and demands of the genre effect its subject matter. Berkhofer wants historians to be reflexive and to get past the urge to make their narratives part of "the great story." All too often historians link their work to metanarratives that shade their work in perhaps unintended ways. Berkhofer is calling for more awareness of how histories are put together; he is also trying to give his readers some tools to take those histories apart and see them with more critical understanding, in essence to see how the metanarratives influence the creation of histories.
For this and a number of other reasons, this is an excellent book for students of history. Yes, it does get plodding in places, but it is a worthwhile book to engage and ponder.
A boring, jargon-filled, unreadable monograph.......1999-09-03
Dr. Berkhofer seems to have a knack for writing dull books about interesting topics. This one is his worst-- utterly impenetrable at times, filled with trendy jargon such as "discourse" ... need I say more?
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Philosophy Education Society, Inc. on December 1, 1996. The length of the article is 665 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Beyond the Great Story: History as Text and Discourse.
Author: Wilhelm S. Wurzer
Publication:
The Review of Metaphysics (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 1996
Publisher: Philosophy Education Society, Inc.
Volume: v50
Issue: n2
Page: p387(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- This book was fascinating
|
Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Bhikhu Parekh
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Gandhi, Mahatma
| ( G )
| People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
India
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| Ancient
South Asia
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Gandhi
| Hinduism
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Nationalism
| Movements
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
People, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
| ( A )
| ( B )
| ( C )
| ( E )
| ( F )
| ( J )
| ( K )
| ( L )
| ( M )
| ( R )
| ( W )
General
| Asia
| History
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
| General
| Leaders & Leadership
| Levels of Government
| Political Doctrines
| Political Theory
| Rights
| United States
Hinduism
| Religion & Spirituality
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
| General
| Hatha Yoga
| Yoga
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
International Migration: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
-
Making Globalization Work
-
The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
-
Shakespeare: A Very Short Introduction
-
Feminism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
ASIN: 0192854577 |
Book Description
Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. During his time as a lawyer in South Africa he developed his strategy of non-violence: the idea of opposing unjust laws by non-violent protest, which he made the basis of his successful struggle against British rule in India. In this Very Short Introduction to Gandhi's life and thought, Bhikhu Parekh outlines both Gandhi's major philosophical insights and the limitations of his thought. He looks at Gandhi's cosmocentric anthropology, his spiritual view of politics, his unique form of liberal communitarianism, and his theories of oppression, non-violent action, and active citizenship. He also considers how the success of Gandhi's principles was limited by his lack of coherent theories of evil, and of state and power, and how his hostility to modern civilization impeded his appreciation of its complexity. Gandhi's life and thought has had an enormous impact both within and outside India, and he continues to be widely revered, as one of the greatest moral and political leaders of the twentieth century.
Customer Reviews:
This book was fascinating.......1999-06-28
I had just finished reading this wonderful book on Mohandhas Karamchand Gandhi. It touched my heart. I am only 12 years old and I am very glad to have an uncle like Bhikhu Parekh(the author of the book). I hope you read this great book on how wonderful Gandhi was to his people and how he fought for the independence of his country.
Average customer rating:
|
Bengal Partition Stories: An Unclosed Chapter (Anthem South Asian Studies)
Manufacturer: Anthem Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Middle East
| History
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Anthologies
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
British
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 1843312255 |
Book Description
"If one could only have one book on South-East Asian history, this incisive and accessible book will fill the gap admirably. It offer in a nutshell and interesting historical perspective of each country."--Dato Zaid Ibrahim, Member of Parliament for Kato Bharu, Malaysia
"A Short History of South-East Asia is one of my best references whenever I need to look for factual information and explanation about major events in South-East Asia, covering the most recent period and going back more than a thousand year."--Narongchai Akrasanee, Former Thailand Minister of Commerce
"Any businessman doing or wanting to do business in SE Asia must understand the history of the area if he is to be successful. The history of each country plays an important part in understanding the country's culture and behaviour. This easily read book provides this invaluable information - ignore it at your peril."--Mike M. Courtnall, President, Asian Building and Manufacturing Markets, BHP Steel Limited
"Succinct, reliable, historical surveys of each state of ASEAN, reaching right up to the present day. Such a country-by-country approach has real value for the business visitor of the tourist moving around this complex region. No one seeking to identify opportunities and dangers in Southeast Asia can ignore the historical processes that shape the different societies."--Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University
"This authoritative, concise, balanced and accessible history neatly fills the gap between the tourist guides and the weighty academic tomes. It gives the reader an authentic "feed for history", so necessary to understand the present."--Stephen Grenville, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia
"The interpretation of events in this book has managed to capture to a considerable degree Southeast Asian perceptions of its history. To have achieved this in such a brief text is impressive."--Nono Anwar Makarim, Founder and Counsel to Makarim and Taira Chairman, Aksara Foundation, Jakarta
Book Description
Ideal for students of regional studies as well as for travelers and historians, this book offers much insight into the key economic, social, and political developments that have shaped both the individual countries of South Asia and the region as a whole.
Customer Reviews:
overwhelming.......2006-04-17
If you do not have a background in Indian history or are Indian yourself, do not buy this book. The book is great for those that know a lot about the evolution of India and that are familiar with all the terms in the book, however if you do not know what "Mauryan" means, do not waste your money. Each sentence has about 3 terms in it so you feel like you almost have to read it with a dictionary sitting next to you. The book is filled with lesser known details on history however, since it goes into such detail you may also find yourself wondering what the chapter was about in the first place. Definitely not for beginners.
Good Cultural History of South Asia.......2005-09-15
This history of South Asia and India very heavily relies on the politics of cultural identity to explore the political and socio-economic changes that have shaped this part of the world. It is a very challenging subject matter for a person not very familiar with Indian history. The first several chapters detail the truly amazing array of small kingdoms and cultural subgroups through ancient and modern South Asia, along with shifts in political and economic "boundaries." The history becomes almost overwhelming and it is at times difficult to keep track of the main points of the book.
Nevertheless, the prose is readable and the diligent reader will learn a lot about the culture and politics of South Asia and why it has developed (or not developed) as it has. It exposes the roots of modern day difficulties between competing religious and ethnic cultures that makes nationality and nation building a difficult prospect - be it Indian, Pakistani, or Sri Lankan. It also helps the reader to understand how long traditions of differing economic interchange and development have caused clashes among competing subgroups and how this has shaped the politics of the regionally and culturally diverse South Asia, especially India. Finally, the book offers insight into the seemingly ever present violence in parts of South Asia such Kashmir, Northeast India, South India, and Sri Lanka rooted in subnationalism and cultural identities.
This book is somewhat weaker on modern day politics and the difficulties surrounding the 1947 partition and the relationships between India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Despite the drawbacks, this work does provide the reader with a piece of the puzzle that is the history of South Asia.
Not a good text for people new to South Asian History.......2004-02-24
Ludden's book presents South Asian history from the perspective of Identity. Although this approach is interesting, it can be hard to follow for student new to the subject.
Instead, I would recommend Keay's "India - A History" or Wolpert's "A New History of India".
Once you have mastered the general timeline and the religious and cultural cross-currents then Ludden's work may be more accessible.
Exceptional study of the region.......2003-09-17
I'm very impressed with this book which looks at the history of the whole region rather than looking at India in isolation. I'll be using it as required text in my class this year as I think it's possibly the best one volume history book currently available that meets the needs of students.
Book Description
A new edition of this widely used text covers the last two centuries of Indian history, concluding with an epilogue written from the perspective of the 1990s. It thematically and analytically discusses the emergence of India as one of the world's largest democracies and one of the most stable
of the states to emerge from the experience of colonialism. The foundations of this rare phenomenon in either Asia or Africa are seen in India's society, the ideas and beliefs of her people, and the institutions of government and politics which have developed on the subcontinent, in a process of
interaction between what was indigenous to India and the many external influences brought to bear on the country by economic, political, and ideological contact with the Western world.
Average customer rating:
- The Hungarian Eccentric Father of Tibetan Studies
|
The Hungarian Who Walked to Heaven-Alexander Csoma De Koros-1784-1842 (Short Lives)
Edward Fox
Manufacturer: Short Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
India
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| Ancient
Tibet
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| China
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Hungary
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Linguistics
| Words & Language
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Essays & Travelogues
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| China
| Asia
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| India
| Asia
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0571208053 |
Book Description
In 1819, the Hungarian linguist Alexander Csoma de Körös set off for Turkistan, in search of the origins of the Magyar people. He was continuously thwarted in his quest—a misunderstood innocent who became unwittingly entangled in the games of imperial intrigue and espionage that were rife in Central Asia at the time. Today, as Edward Fox so deftly illustrates, we have Csoma de Körös to thank for much of what we know about Tibetan culture. Fate eventually brought him to the Himalayas, where, in the freezing cells of Buddhist monasteries, he uncovered a vast ancient civilization hitherto unknown to the West. His was a sublimely strange life, a heroic example of scholarly masochism and obsession.
Edward Fox is the author of
Sacred Geography: A Tale of Murder and Archaeology in the Holy Land.
Customer Reviews:
The Hungarian Eccentric Father of Tibetan Studies.......2001-09-29
The Hungarian Who Walked To Heaven
Alexander Csoma De Koros 1784-1842
Edward Fox
Short Books 2001, $8.95/£4.99 p/b
This is a delightful short biography of an eccentric Hungarian scholar who became one of the fathers of Western studies of Tibetan culture. Educated at an austere Calvinist school until age 31, Csoma De Koros finally set out alone on a pilgrimage to the East, his mission: to discover the roots of the Hungarian people, whom he and others of the time theorized to be descended from Attila the Hun. Due to a Chinese decree restricting foreign entry to Tibet he was sadly never to reach Yarkand, where he hoped to find linguistic proof of the Cenral Asian origins of the Hungarian race. However on his way, via many adventures, misfortunes and disguises, he acquired around 14 languages, became one of the first Europeans to enter Ladakh, and compiled the first relatively reliable Tibetan-English dictionary. Supported and encouraged by the British vet and Superintendent of the East India Company's Stud, William Moorcroft, Csoma went on to study, with Lama Sangye Phuntsog in a remote monastery in Zanskar. For 16 months the two men studied the Tibetan language and vast canon in freezing conditions in a tiny 9 foot square cell. Csoma spent the last years of his life working for the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta, mastering Marathi, Bengali and Sanskrit, before dying of malaria on a final courageous attempt to travel across Tibet to Western China. A fascinating little book.
Padmakara
Average customer rating:
|
The Russian Revolution 1917-1921: A Short History (Hodder Arnold Publication)
James D. White
Manufacturer: A Hodder Arnold Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
India
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| Ancient
Japan
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Revolutionary
| Historical Study
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Russia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0340539100 |
Book Description
This study provides a factual, chronological account of the main political events of the period, explains the tensions within society that led to the popular upheavals of 1917 and shows what had become of these social movements by the end of the Civil War period; offers an intellectual history of the Revolution, and looks critically at the nature of the sources we depend on for an understanding of the Revolution.
Average customer rating:
|
Short History of Ceylon
Humphrey William Codrington
Manufacturer: Asian Educational Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
India
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| Ancient
Sri Lanka
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Customs & Traditions
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 8120609468 |
Average customer rating:
|
South Asia: A Short History
Hugh Tinker
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
India
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
| Ancient
ASIN: 0824812875 |
Books:
- Black Women in America (3 Vol. Set)
- Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys
- Chasin' The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker
- Crazy from the Heat
- Cuba: A Short History (Cambridge History of Latin America)
- Curzon: Imperial Statesman
- Daily Life in Ancient Rome : The People and the City at the Height of the Empire
- Deep Water Passage
- Dictionary of Napoleonic Wars
- Documents In British History, Vol. II: 1688 to the Present
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Comm
- What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coff
- The Fearless Man: A Novel of Vietnam
- The Film Encyclopedia 5e: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume
- The Cormac McCarthy Value Collection: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain
- Turbulence: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers
- Tropical Nature: Life & Death in the Rain Forests of Central & South America
- US Residential Real Estate Investment & Business Guide for Foreigners
- The Dolphin Dynamic: How to Make a Splash in Today's Shark-Infested Business Waters
- The Manual of Business German: A Comprehensive Language Guide
The Content of the Form: Narrative Discourse and Historical Representation
Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison
That Noble Dream: The 'Objectivity Question' and the American Historical Profession (Ideas in Context)
Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe
In Defense of History
