NARRATIVITY IN HISTORY: POSTSTRUCTURALISM AND SINCE

Abstract

Author belives that there is no »straight» way to invent a history, regardless of the honesty and professionalism of the historian. Indeed, the standards of honesty and professionalism are to be found in precisely those conventions, both in what they permit or mandate and in what exclude from consideration: all history, even the most long-term, quantified, synchronic description, if it is understood by competent readers as part of a story, an explicit or implicit narrative. The longing for the innocent, unprocessed source that will afford a fresher, truer: vision is doomed to frustration. There are no unprocessed historical data; once an object or text has been identified as material for history, it is already deeply implicated in the cultural system.