LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

David Hackett Fischer Refutes ALBION'S SEED Critics

Here follow two of Hackett's refutations of those who have taken issue with his statements of the emigrants' regions and points of departure, who they were, etc., with citations. As you can see from the length of the April, '91 article, Hackett goes deeply into his source materials for his minutely detailed evidence. No one as far as I can tell from researching these issues in JSTOR have refuted his refutation. Part of the problem appears to be the same as with this year's publication of Keegan's take on the U.S. Civil War: Unlike Keegan, Hackett has walked all the grounds included in his work, in the U.K., and in the U.S.. He's lived in these regions as well; he grew up in the Chesapeake and the Tidewater, he did stints of matriculation, scholarship and lectureships at unversities in England, whereas it appears that his critics haven't done these things – as far as I can tell at this point, at least. I don't claim to know everything, though I am doing as careful research search as I can.

Albion and the Critics: Further Evidence and Reflection
David Hackett Fischer
The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Apr., 1991), pp. 260-308
Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
David Hackett Fischer's Rejoinder
The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 48, No. 4 (Oct., 1991), pp. 608-611
Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

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