On the Future of History: The Postmodernist Challenge and Its Aftermath

254 Pages·2003·1.16 MB·English

by  Ernst Breisach

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ONTHEFUTUREOFHISTORY
i
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ii
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ERNSTBREISACH
ONTHEFUTUREOFHISTORY
THEPOSTMODERNISTCHALLENGE
ANDITSAFTERMATH
TheUniversityofChicagoPress
ChicagoandLondon
iii
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ErnstBreisachisGraduateandResearchProfessorofHistoryEmeritusatWestern
MichiganUniversity.AmonghisbooksareHistoriography:Ancient,Medieval,Modern,2nd
edition(1993)andAmericanProgressiveHistory:AnExperimentinModernization(1993),
bothpublishedbytheUniversityofChicagoPress.
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Chicago60637
TheUniversityofChicagoPress,Ltd.,London
(cid:2)C 2003byTheUniversityofChicago
Allrightsreserved.Published2003
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
12 1110 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN:0-226-07279-7(cloth)
ISBN:0-226-07280-0(paper)
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Breisach,Ernst.
Onthefutureofhistory:thepostmodernistchallengeandits
aftermath/ErnstBreisach.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-226-07279-7(cloth:alk.paper)—ISBN0-226-07280-0(pbk.:
alk.paper)
1.Postmodernism—Socialaspects. 2.Historiography. I.Title.
HM449.B742003
306—dc21 2003006765
(cid:2)∞ ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsoftheAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciences—PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSIZ39.48-1992.
iv
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CONTENTS
APrefatoryandIntroductoryNote ix
PART1 APreliminaryExplorationofthePostmodernist
Challenge 1
1 ALookatTermsandIssues 3
2 AnAdversarialImageofModernity 11
3 ThePostmodernMoment 15
4 AttheCoreofthePostmodernistChallengetoHistory 17
5 TwoVersionsofthePostmodernistFuture 21
PostmodernityastheUltimateEraofStability (cid:1)Postmodernity
astheEndlessStageofTotalFlux
6 TheProjectofaPostmodernistTheoryofHistory 25
PART2 PostmodernityastheTriumphofContinuity:Structural
Postmodernism 27
7 Postmodernism’sEmergenceinanUnlikelySetting 29
8 AnEarlyRedefinitionofProgress’sDestination 30
9 ViewswithPostmodernistAffinities 33
10 TheFirstTwentieth-CenturyPostmodernist:
AlexandreKoje`ve 38
11 TheFlourishingofStructuralPostmodernism(1945–65) 43
TheSetting (cid:1)AnIdeologicalPathtoPostmodernity:Hendrik
deManandBertranddeJouvenel (cid:1)AnAnthropologicalPathto
Postmodernity:ArnoldGehlen (cid:1)AScientific-Technological
PathtoPostmodernity:RoderickSeidenberg
12 TheFadingofStructuralPostmodernismandaTriumphal
Exception:FrancisFukuyama 51
13 InsightsandProblems 54
(cid:1) v
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vi (cid:1) CONTENTS
PART3 PostmodernityastheAgeofDominantChange:
PoststructuralistPostmodernism 57
14 APreludetoPoststructuralistPostmodernism 59
Name,Motive,andTask (cid:1)TwoDecisiveIntellectualTurns:
LinguisticandPhilosophical (cid:1)TheContextofPoststructuralist
Postmodernism’sRise
15 NarrativistHistoryinthePoststructuralistMode 72
ThePreparatoryRoleofEarlyNarrativism (cid:1)RolandBarthes’s
Challenge (cid:1)Narrativism,PoststructuralistPostmodernism,and
theHistoricalWaysofInquiry:White,Ankersmit,
Kellner (cid:1)Motives,Visions,andProblems (cid:1)ComingtoTerms
withtheNewNarrativism:TheRecentScholarlyDebate
16 IntheEyeoftheStorm:ThePoststructuralistPostmodernist
ConceptofTruth 89
TheTargetofRejection (cid:1)PreparatoryDevelopmentsforthe
RevisionofTruth:Dilthey,Nietzsche,Heidegger (cid:1)Foucault’s
Truth:PowerManifestedinLanguage (cid:1)JacquesDerrida:
ASystematicAnswer (cid:1)AModeratelyLinguisticApproach:
Jean-Franc¸oisLyotard (cid:1)ReflectionsontheNewConceptof
Truth (cid:1)TheDebateontheImplicationsforHistoricalThought
andPractice
17 TheMetanarrativeControversy 122
TheArgumentagainsttheHistoricalMetanarrative:Lyotard,
Foucault,Derrida,Baudrillard (cid:1)TheOngoingDebateaboutthe
Metanarrative (cid:1)AnInnovativeVariant:TheNewCulturalHistory
18 PoststructuralistPostmodernistsontheIndividualand
theUtilityofHistory 153
CouldHistoryStillBeUseful? (cid:1)TheDeconstructionofthe
IndividualasHistoricalAgent (cid:1)CanPostmodernistViewsof
HistoryJustifyAction? (cid:1)ActivismwithouttheGuidanceofthe
Past (cid:1)ResponsestotheChallenge
PART4 PoststructuralistPostmodernismandtheReshaping
ofSociety 167
19 WhatKindofMarxisminPostmodernity? 169
TheContestantsandtheHistoricalSituation (cid:1)The
DeconstructionoftheMarxistViewofHistory (cid:1)AMarxist
VariantwithPostmodernistThemes:TheFrankfurtSchooland
Habermas
20 PostmodernismandFeministHistory 184
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CONTENTS (cid:1) vii
PART5 ConcludingObservations 191
Notes 209
SelectBibliography 223
Index 237
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APREFATORYANDINTRODUCTORYNOTE
Part1ofthisvolumeoffersanampleintroductiontothestoryofthepost-
modernistchallengetohistory.Therefore,thisintroductorynoteislimited
to stating the reasons for writing this book and for the approach chosen.
Thevastliteratureonpostmodernismmayleadsometoquestionwhether
another book on the topic could be useful. Such doubts vanish with the
realizationthatthereisadearthofbooksthatfocusdirectlyontherelation-
shipbetweenpostmodernistandhistoricalthought.Thatisespeciallytrue
if,asthisvolumeattemptstodo,thepostmodernistchallengeisseennotasa
theoryofanextra-historicalqualitybutisviewedasahistoricalphenomenon
thathasbeenconformingtotheusualpatterncomprisingarisetopromi-
nence,anexuberantflourishing,and—atpresentindications—adampening
downofrevolutionaryintentstopartialmodificationsofhistoricalthought
andpractice.Theapproachalsorecognizespostmodernism’sreachtobasic
propositions about the human condition, thereby rescuing the postmod-
ernistdebatefromitsconfinementtomethodologicalissuesinanabstract
theoreticalspace.Exceptionstotheconfinementhadalreadybeentakenby
thosewhohaveheldfasttothepublicroleofhistory.Viewedinthiswiderper-
spective,thepostmodernistchallengetohistoryacquiresadramaticquality
asitsaspirationscollidewithlong-standingWesterntraditionsinhistorical
thoughtandpractice.
Writing this volume proved arduous. The vast literature on post-
modernism offers sometimes difficult reading. An innovative vocabulary
joinedthewideinterdisciplinaryreachintophilosophy,literarycriticismand
theory, anthropology, and cultural studies in taxing the persistence of the
inquirer. In this context, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the
greatnumberofscholarswhohaveenrichedmyunderstandingofthesub-
jectmatterthroughtheirwork,discussionsatconferences,workshops,and
informal meetings, and through the exchange of ideas after my own lec-
tures.AsImodifiedandrefinedmyviews,myappreciationofthecollegial
characterofhistoricalthoughtandpracticegainednewstrength.
(cid:1) ix