Kevin Hardwick's nice point about modern historical scholarship reminded me, oddly enough, of an episode of the Simpsons. As many of you no doubt know, the show is set in the cartoon town of Springfield. In the episode in question, schoolkids are watching a painfully amateurish historical film on the town's pioneer founder, Jebediah Obediah Springfield. One of the founder's exploits involved confronting and killing a bear, which the film shows in a cheesy reenactment. After vanquishing the bear, however, Jebediah is undercut by the film's narrator, who in a quickened voice says, "Historians now believe that the bear killed and devoured Springfield."

Yes, we historians really are killjoys these days.

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From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Hardwick, Kevin - hardwikr [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 4:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] 03232232Z12 Re: Textbooks

Henry Wiencek's comment below strikes me as spot on.  The implications of his point speak directly to the contemporary dilemma that we confront, not only as responsible educators but also as politically active and engaged citizens.  As political theorists from Aristotle forward have in various ways noted, a certain kind of emotional attachment to the polity is a precondition for wide-spread political participation.  For Jefferson (to take just one example), the long-term success of the Republic depended on the continued existence of an actively and thoughtfully engaged citizenry.  One of the many roles that the study and promulgation of history has played is to produce, replicate, or reinforce that sense of attachment.  In this sense, history is a kind of myth.

Much of the very best impulses in modern historical study has been to unmask such mythological conceits, and to problematize conventional narratives and stories.  Unmasking carries its own risks, however, since the laudable urge to expose the occlusions, omissions, and other work that myths perform to entrench power relations can on occasion serve the interests of creating new ones.  Some theorists argue that *all* mythologizing valorizes some persons at the expense of others.  As an aside, I found very helpful in thinking about such issues the short book by Ian Hacking, THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF WHAT?

Anyway, our aspiration for truthful historical textbooks risks becoming paradoxical.  If a thriving and successful republic requires thoughtfully engaged citizens, and if historical or foundational myths play an important role in sustaining that engagement, then what is or should be the role of historians?  I confess I lack good answers to this question, but it certainly was the case that the dilemma was fully on display in the public criticism to which Dr. Wallenstein, myself, and others had to respond.

All best wishes,
Kevin
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Kevin R. Hardwick
Associate Professor
Department of History, MSC 8001
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
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