EARLY STIRRINGS OF AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY - The Late 1920s I recently posted that I am reading Essays in Intellectual History, which is a collection of essays published as a book to coincide with the election of James Harvey Robinson to the presidency of the American Historical Association in 1928. (Other contributors include Muzzey, Beard, Preserved Smith, et al.) ...........At this point, many seem to be still struggling with the apparent declining primacy of common sense continuity being the sine qua non for all history writing. The newer embrace of intellectual history is unambiguous, if feeling a bit provisional. (One writer in this same volume discussed how Spenglers recently arrived massive synthesis provocatively upset the applecart with its use of sweeping generalizations, leading ideas through time and so on that were considered, to paraphrase, fine poetry or good art, but not history. I may post more about that author later.) ...........This very small excerpt indicates how the historian, implicitly (apparently) is conflicted when all factors point to a certain historical result, using the standard expectations of causality, yet events failed to follow suit as expected. Does the historian dare venture into speculation to elucidate what immanent or obscure events, even ideas, played roles, even if this violates continuity? (This may of course be a screen incident onto which he is projecting his concerns about other historical matters; both historical and methodology contretemps.) ...........This is by M.M. Knight and ostensibly revolves around recent events in Algeria, but I dont think that fact is of the greatest significance. His phrase about stepping out of a garden of Edenic tradition, is both felicitous and telling about the ambiguous feelings in stepping into the life of the subjective mind, as historicized matter. Knight gained renown as professor at UC-Berkeley. (His brother was a well known professor of philosophy.) ............The title of the essay is The Conquest of Algeria --- A Case of Historical Inertia
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 17:47:55 +0000
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