'FUTURE PAST': TIME AND TELEOLOGY IN (ANCIENT) HISTORIOGRAPHY.
ABSTRACT The historian's account of the past is strongly shaped by the future of the events narrated. The telos, that is, the vantage point from which the past is envisaged, influences the selection of the material as well as its arrangement. Although the telos is past for historians and readers, it...
| Publicado en: | History & Theory Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 309 - 331 |
|---|---|
| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Wiley-Blackwell
Oct2014
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=98643681&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 98643681 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00182656 HAT jtl: History & Theory issn: 00182656 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Oct2014 vid: 53 iid: 3 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 98643681 10.1111/hith.10715 ppf: 309 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 421KB tig: atl: 'FUTURE PAST': TIME AND TELEOLOGY IN (ANCIENT) HISTORIOGRAPHY. aug: au: GRETHLEIN, JONAS affil: Heidelberg University su: Ancient history -- Historiography Narratives Teleology Retrospective studies Poststructuralism sug: subj: Ancient history -- Historiography Narratives Teleology Retrospective studies Poststructuralism keyword: “future past” 'future past' (ancient) historiography narrative post‐structuralism post-structuralism presence retrospect time ab: ABSTRACT The historian's account of the past is strongly shaped by the future of the events narrated. The telos, that is, the vantage point from which the past is envisaged, influences the selection of the material as well as its arrangement. Although the telos is past for historians and readers, it is future for historical agents. The term 'future past,' coined by Reinhart Koselleck to highlight the fact that the future was seen differently before the Sattelzeit, also lends itself to capturing this asymmetry and elucidating its ramifications for the writing of history. The first part of the essay elaborates on the notion of 'future past': besides considering its significance and pitfalls, I offset it against the perspectivity of historical knowledge and the concept of narrative 'closure' (I). Then the works of two ancient historians, Polybius and Sallust, serve as test cases that illustrate the intricacies of 'future past.' Neither has received much credit for intellectual sophistication in scholarship, and yet the different narrative strategies Polybius and Sallust deploy reveal profound reflections on the temporal dynamics of writing history (II). Although the issue of 'future past' is particularly pertinent to the strongly narrative historiography of antiquity, the controversy about the end of the Roman Republic demonstrates that it also applies to the works of modern historians (III). Finally, I will argue that 'future past' alerts us to an aspect of how we relate to the past that is in danger of being obliterated in the current debate on 'presence' and history. The past is present in customs, relics, and rituals, but the historiographical construction of the past is predicated on a complex hermeneutical operation that involves the choice of a telos. The concept of 'future past' also differs from post-structuralist theories through its emphasis on time. Retrospect calms the flow of time, but is unable to arrest it fully, as the openness of the past survives in the form of 'future past' (IV). pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of History & Theory is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: History & Theory holder: Wiley-Blackwell dt: @attributes: year: 2014 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|