Historical Representation &
Imagination
Inhoudsopgave
Lecture 1: General theoretical framework.......................................................................................3
Representation.............................................................................................................................3
Circuit of culture...........................................................................................................................3
Tutorial 1: General theoretical framework......................................................................................5
Stuart Hall.....................................................................................................................................5
Erll and Rigney..............................................................................................................................5
Grever and Adriaansen:................................................................................................................6
Lecture 2...........................................................................................................................................7
Definitions of History....................................................................................................................7
Definitions Myth...........................................................................................................................7
Some of White’s arguments.........................................................................................................7
Science fiction as history; history as scifi......................................................................................8
Tutorial 2...........................................................................................................................................9
Liedl, Janice...................................................................................................................................9
Morris Suzuki (text) and Yoshinori Kobayashi (manga)................................................................9
Startrek analysis..........................................................................................................................10
Lecture 3.........................................................................................................................................11
The medium affects the message...............................................................................................11
Photograph or image as visual sign............................................................................................11
Documentary genre and history.................................................................................................13
....................................................................................................................................................14
....................................................................................................................................................14
Tutorial 3.........................................................................................................................................15
Sturken........................................................................................................................................15
Torchin and Missing Picture.......................................................................................................16
Lecture 4:........................................................................................................................................17
Film and television......................................................................................................................17
Television and film culture and history......................................................................................19
, Two case studies of TV and film re/mediating history..............................................................19
Tutorial 4.........................................................................................................................................21
Erll Reading.................................................................................................................................21
Chandler and Killing Fields..........................................................................................................22
Phu..............................................................................................................................................22
Lecture 5:........................................................................................................................................24
Media: multiple and interactive.................................................................................................24
Case #1: New media and Holocaust studies...............................................................................25
Tutorial 5.........................................................................................................................................27
Shaw reading..............................................................................................................................27
Gonzaga......................................................................................................................................27
Honae H. Cuffe............................................................................................................................28
Lecture 6:........................................................................................................................................29
Historical Games.........................................................................................................................29
Biases, controversies..................................................................................................................30
Tutorial 6:........................................................................................................................................32
Discussion points for Dow:.........................................................................................................32
Discussion points for Chapman:.................................................................................................32
Lecture 7:........................................................................................................................................33
A definition Historical re-enactment..........................................................................................33
Ingredients for a (historical) re- enactment...............................................................................33
Different kinds of re-enactment.................................................................................................33
Tutorial 7:........................................................................................................................................35
Discussion points Agnew:...........................................................................................................35
Discussion points Zurne:.............................................................................................................35
,Lecture 1: General theoretical framework
Representation
What is representation? In simple terms, using language to say something
meaningful about, or to represent, the world meaningfully, to other people.
Is this a straightforward process?
3 theories of how language is used to represent the world:
reflective: meaning lies within the object, person, idea, event, and language acts like
a mirror, reflecting it (mimetic theories of representation)
intentional: the speaker/author/creator determines what meaning language
takes
constructionist: material world and symbolic practices are not mirrors of each other.
Symbolic practices convey meaning, and those practices are influenced by culture or
cultures, and vice versa.
Circuit of culture
Stuart Hall, cultural theorist, sociologist
Culture is about shared meanings, shared
practices
Meaning is produced at different sites and
circulate through different processes and
practices
5 processes are highlighted in which meaning is
produced, and which involves different actors
Study of representation formerly on language, religious
texts, books; but now related to a wide variety of audio,
visual, digital media
Discours
Discourses: ways of constructing knowledge about a topic; clusters of ideas, images, practices
relating to a topic which provides the way in which we think about it (not a discussion)
Cultural memory
Cultural memory: an ongoing process where memories are shared with the help of symbolic
artefacts that mediate between individuals and groups (think about sites of memory).
It entails rememberance and forgetting where some memories become collective, and
individuals and groups position themselves in relation to memory sites.
A key focus in studying cultural memory is the role of media in shaping cultural memory (instead
of just reflecting)
, Historical culture
The various ways historical consciousness, an understanding of history and historical
knowledge are articulated in society. Includes not only one's personal sense of history,
but also the institutions and organizations that form the infrastructure of
historical learning (schools, government policies, museums, exhibitions, mass media)
Representation and history
Why is the study of representation important? What does this have to do with the study of history?
History comes to us via representations, whether through words, images, digital environment
(example)
Those representations have histories themselves: they build on previously accepted meanings
(example)
Representations and history are not neutral: they are part of the society and culture that
produced them, and are linked to values and ideologies (example)
We need to understand how representation affects our understanding of history; how the history of
representation delimits how we are able to produce and consume history; and how both affect our lives
today
Imagination
Inhoudsopgave
Lecture 1: General theoretical framework.......................................................................................3
Representation.............................................................................................................................3
Circuit of culture...........................................................................................................................3
Tutorial 1: General theoretical framework......................................................................................5
Stuart Hall.....................................................................................................................................5
Erll and Rigney..............................................................................................................................5
Grever and Adriaansen:................................................................................................................6
Lecture 2...........................................................................................................................................7
Definitions of History....................................................................................................................7
Definitions Myth...........................................................................................................................7
Some of White’s arguments.........................................................................................................7
Science fiction as history; history as scifi......................................................................................8
Tutorial 2...........................................................................................................................................9
Liedl, Janice...................................................................................................................................9
Morris Suzuki (text) and Yoshinori Kobayashi (manga)................................................................9
Startrek analysis..........................................................................................................................10
Lecture 3.........................................................................................................................................11
The medium affects the message...............................................................................................11
Photograph or image as visual sign............................................................................................11
Documentary genre and history.................................................................................................13
....................................................................................................................................................14
....................................................................................................................................................14
Tutorial 3.........................................................................................................................................15
Sturken........................................................................................................................................15
Torchin and Missing Picture.......................................................................................................16
Lecture 4:........................................................................................................................................17
Film and television......................................................................................................................17
Television and film culture and history......................................................................................19
, Two case studies of TV and film re/mediating history..............................................................19
Tutorial 4.........................................................................................................................................21
Erll Reading.................................................................................................................................21
Chandler and Killing Fields..........................................................................................................22
Phu..............................................................................................................................................22
Lecture 5:........................................................................................................................................24
Media: multiple and interactive.................................................................................................24
Case #1: New media and Holocaust studies...............................................................................25
Tutorial 5.........................................................................................................................................27
Shaw reading..............................................................................................................................27
Gonzaga......................................................................................................................................27
Honae H. Cuffe............................................................................................................................28
Lecture 6:........................................................................................................................................29
Historical Games.........................................................................................................................29
Biases, controversies..................................................................................................................30
Tutorial 6:........................................................................................................................................32
Discussion points for Dow:.........................................................................................................32
Discussion points for Chapman:.................................................................................................32
Lecture 7:........................................................................................................................................33
A definition Historical re-enactment..........................................................................................33
Ingredients for a (historical) re- enactment...............................................................................33
Different kinds of re-enactment.................................................................................................33
Tutorial 7:........................................................................................................................................35
Discussion points Agnew:...........................................................................................................35
Discussion points Zurne:.............................................................................................................35
,Lecture 1: General theoretical framework
Representation
What is representation? In simple terms, using language to say something
meaningful about, or to represent, the world meaningfully, to other people.
Is this a straightforward process?
3 theories of how language is used to represent the world:
reflective: meaning lies within the object, person, idea, event, and language acts like
a mirror, reflecting it (mimetic theories of representation)
intentional: the speaker/author/creator determines what meaning language
takes
constructionist: material world and symbolic practices are not mirrors of each other.
Symbolic practices convey meaning, and those practices are influenced by culture or
cultures, and vice versa.
Circuit of culture
Stuart Hall, cultural theorist, sociologist
Culture is about shared meanings, shared
practices
Meaning is produced at different sites and
circulate through different processes and
practices
5 processes are highlighted in which meaning is
produced, and which involves different actors
Study of representation formerly on language, religious
texts, books; but now related to a wide variety of audio,
visual, digital media
Discours
Discourses: ways of constructing knowledge about a topic; clusters of ideas, images, practices
relating to a topic which provides the way in which we think about it (not a discussion)
Cultural memory
Cultural memory: an ongoing process where memories are shared with the help of symbolic
artefacts that mediate between individuals and groups (think about sites of memory).
It entails rememberance and forgetting where some memories become collective, and
individuals and groups position themselves in relation to memory sites.
A key focus in studying cultural memory is the role of media in shaping cultural memory (instead
of just reflecting)
, Historical culture
The various ways historical consciousness, an understanding of history and historical
knowledge are articulated in society. Includes not only one's personal sense of history,
but also the institutions and organizations that form the infrastructure of
historical learning (schools, government policies, museums, exhibitions, mass media)
Representation and history
Why is the study of representation important? What does this have to do with the study of history?
History comes to us via representations, whether through words, images, digital environment
(example)
Those representations have histories themselves: they build on previously accepted meanings
(example)
Representations and history are not neutral: they are part of the society and culture that
produced them, and are linked to values and ideologies (example)
We need to understand how representation affects our understanding of history; how the history of
representation delimits how we are able to produce and consume history; and how both affect our lives
today
