Historiographical Narrative Research Articles

Between the narratives

The article examines the literary-historical field between two historiographical narratives – Boyan Penev‘s History of Modern Bulgarian Literature (1930/1936) and Ivan Radev‘s History of Bulgarian Literature During the National Revival (1997) – through the theoretical theses presented in Nikola Georgiev‘ s papers.

“In Pursuit of Reform”

The religious and intellectual history of early modern and modern Islam is often reduced to a teleological and Arabo-centric narrative, in which modernity began with Napoleon’s Egyptian Expedition or the Nahḍa, the Arab Renaissance. Within this narrative, the succession of Sufism, Islamic reformism, Islamism, and Salafism is seen as a “genealogy of Islamism.” Using a regressive history approach, and presenting the currents of international historiography on Islam between the fifteenth and the twenty-first century, this article seeks in contrast to illuminate the plurality of possible pathways and the heterogeneous nature of historical moments. Moving backward through time, it attempts to identify ruptures and continuities, and to highlight successive interpretations of medieval authors and concepts (such as salafiyya). In so doing, it endeavors to demonstrate the constructed nature of the received historiographical narrative of late nineteenth-century “Islamic reformism,” as well as that of “Arabic thought in the liberal age.” Historiographical debates on the “neo-Sufism” and Aufklärung of the eighteenth century have led to a better understanding of Islam in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, a thirst for renewal (tajdīd) flourished in hadith, Islamic law, and Sufism. Recent research on the process of “confessionalization” over the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries has highlighted the importance of political factors in developments of Islam during the age of the three Empires (Mughal, Safavid, and Ottoman).

Curating Commonality: Multimodal Materialities of Intercommunal Northern African Heritage

This paper delineates multimodal materialities of intercommunal curation. I center the case of curating commonality of northern African (Maghrebi) Judeo-Islamic encounters and interactions across generations through plural Maghrebi Jewish narratives, and in the changing shape of museum curation culture. Algeria is central to historiographies of French imperial pluralism and their post-imperial metropolitan reconfigurations. For context, I introduce two curatorial modes which showcased Maghrebi Jewish trajectories in Paris: the IMA (Institut du monde arabe, Arab World Institute) exhibition Juifs d’Orient (Jews from the Orient) and the Musée de l’histoire et des cultures de l’immigration (Museum for the History of Immigration) Juifs et musulmans de l’empire à l’hexagone (Jews and Muslims from empire to Hexagone/France) where I pay attention to the exhibitions’ impact as sites encounter and interaction. Then, as a counterpoint, as participant-observer I explore a 2023 grassroots festival for North African Jewish cultures which closed with a cemetery visit of great Jewish Algeria Andalusi musicians (singers and composers). These included Reinette l’Oranaise, whose biography, music, and contemporary reception I presented to an intergenerational audience. These co-constructed experiences chime with the development of multimodal practices connected to the curation of complex intergenerational historiographical narratives between digital film and cultural reception.

A Decolonisation Delayed and a Case for the Local Approach

Abstract This article investigates the possibilities of the local approach in revisiting traditional historiographical narratives on the decolonisation of Guinea-Bissau, a process which has mostly been analysed from national and imperial standpoints. Drawing from local archival sources from the region of Cacheu, it argues that the transition process at the local level was rather complex, with a new administration that took time to be installed and colonial officials who assured the continuity of administrative tasks. Moreover, local sources demonstrate that the Guinean liberation movement did not have a good knowledge of the region and mobilised local structures to collect information.

Representation of Kalash in Historiographic Narrative: Interpretation and Orientation of Different Versions of Presentism

This article follows the representation of Kalash in historiographic narratives, which deals with the orientation of its origin, race, mythology, and cultural practices in the presence of presentism. Multifaceted perspectives have tried to explore the dynamics of Kalash's ancient connection, isolation, and its possible interpretation to mirror its historic image, which projected different versions of presentism. Despite the limitations in historical sources, Kalash's intangible system of rituals and norms offers an unprecedented reflection on its culture and its manifestation in the contemporary period. Researchers experienced multiple forms of reconstruction in the history of Kalash. Theological, mythological, and nomadic cultural practices amongst Kalash open us to a completely different worldview of tribal civility. The interaction with ancient Vedic, Gandhara, Greco-Bactrian, medieval Afghan, Turks, Persian, and modern British trends has left profound impacts on the presentist perspective of Kalash's origins, beliefs, and rituals. This article tried to explore the story of civilizations in the mountain of Hindukush. Indigenous Khowar historiography, British Chitral documentations, and Hindukush Cultural expeditions played a significant role in the reconstruction of Kalash's pasts. This article tried to analysis Kalash in multidisciplinary approaches. This study helps the socio-political transformation in the Dardic region and the reconstruction of memory studies and the cultural heritage of Kalash. Anthropological, ethnohistoric, archeological, and historian's views help to communicate patterns and perceptions of presentism for historical understanding of Kalash.

The Representation of the Space of the Parties by Mamluk Chancery Secretaries in Documents and Works Concerning Relations between the Sultanate and Christian Powers

Abstract For a long time, scholarship has illustrated the representation of territoriality in diplomatic relations between the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517) and Christian powers with the traditional paradigm “abode of Islam/abode of war.” The historiographical narrative of the diyār (abodes) has recently been reconsidered by scholars who have examined different kinds of sources but have barely investigated chancery documents. When we look at diplomatic sources and works written by secretaries of the Mamluk chancery, references to diyār on religious grounds are practically inexistent. The territories of the sultanate and the Christian powers are often defined by other kinds of categories. This paper examines how “space” and consequently the boundaries between the Mamluks and the Christian states were geographically and symbolically interpreted and described. This approach is aimed at understanding the criteria according to which the sultanate represented and legitimized its relations with non-Muslim powers.

Jewish/non-Jewish encounters in corridors and staircases: narrowing down everyday life in liminal spaces

ABSTRACT Contrary to historiographical narratives about Jewish seclusion in European cities at the turn of the twentieth century, we argue that Jews and non-Jews mingled and developed relationships on a daily basis in residential and everyday spaces. We develop the concept of liminal topographies to show how the transient, in-between material structures of staircases and corridors in two such disparate case studies as Stockholm and Vienna facilitated Jewish/non-Jewish relational arenas for the broader masses. Combining digital mapping, visual analysis and text analysis, this approach expands the field of Jewish spatiality by underlining the link between absolute spaces and relational processes.

"Giordano Bruno. Lights from the Pyre" (1966) by the Philosopher Slavi Boyanov – a Literary Version of the Manuscript "Protection of the Human Person" Confiscated by the State Security (1953)

The paper traces the migration of a philosopher in the literary field. The purpose of this text is to prove, through the method of mutual interpretation (parallel reading of works of fiction, documentary texts and historiographical narrative), that Slavi Bo-yanov's novel ‘Giordano Bruno’. is a literary compensation for his confiscated manu-script ‘Defense of the Human Person’ (1953), which was not published until 1997. The contribution of the study is that it illuminates another case of an intellectual's strained relationship with the authorities in power.

Chaos and comedy: The narrative of Samuel Turner III

The advent of World War I in Britain saw a politicisation of profit, heightened by pre-existing labour unrest, State intervention, industrial disruption and claims of profiteering. During this time, the prominent industrialist Sir Samuel Turner III (1878–1955) published two books on the role of business, and particularly profits, in society. As an example of contemporary media, we use these books to highlight how Turner conceptualised profits as representative of Britain's path to post-war success – a transition from darkness into light. We adopt narrative historiography and the genre of comedy to provide a framework for analysis. In doing so, we demonstrate how profit becomes a totalising and taken-for-granted concept representing both economic and social progress.

Ethnoarchaeology before Processual Ethnoarchaeology: The First Ethnographic Comparisons

ABSTRACT From a genealogical perspective, this article explores the foundations of ethnoarchaeological research in the context of European colonialism. It investigates methodologies that utilize ethnographic information for reconstructing historical contexts, focusing first on early comparisons during colonial encounters. These comparisons significantly shaped the amalgamation of ethnographic data into archaeology and the formulation of interpretive strategies, encompassing the direct historical method and ethnographic analogy to decipher societies via material evidence using ethnographies of non-western societies. Despite the initial prevalence of ethnographic analogy in the 1950s, ethnoarchaeology progressed by integrating novel data collection techniques into broader scientific discussions. This article critically challenges established historiographical narratives within ethnoarchaeology, asserting that aspects of ethnographic analogy and ethnoarchaeological methodology did not solely emerge as processual innovations in the 1950s, but rather their roots trace back to earlier archaeologists and ethnographers and previous colonial scholars.

International Solidarity at the Grassroots: A Case Study of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement

The global campaign against apartheid South Africa has been viewed as one of the most successful examples of international solidarity activism in the 20th century. Scholars examining how anti-apartheid emerged and developed as a salient global issue have primarily focused on transnational and national considerations, particularly the role and influence of southern African exiles and expatriates, as well as the way that anti-apartheid intersected with national domestic political concerns. There has, however, been limited attention paid to the distinctly local dimensions of the international anti-apartheid movement. Using the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) as a case study, this article seeks to add to our understanding of how the politics of anti-apartheid at the grassroots level was shaped by its interactions with the local economic, political, social and cultural environment. The existing historiography on anti-apartheid in Britain has been characterised by an overwhelming focus on the London-based national AAM and a widespread perception that the movement was highly centralised. Through an exploration of the role of local activist structures, the issue of grassroots autonomy, and examples of anti-apartheid activism beyond London, the article asserts that while there was an element of centralisation linked to the national AAM, this point has been overemphasised. In adopting a grassroots analytical approach, this article will reveal the distinctive local dimensions of anti-apartheid activism in Britain and demonstrate that there was greater diversity than the existing scholarship acknowledges. It is argued that such heterogeneity within the movement was shaped by the levels of grassroots autonomy that existed, as well as the influence of divergent local conditions. Finally, a focus on local anti-apartheid activism can provide greater nuance to established historiographical narratives of the national AAM, such as tensions with the far left and engagement with domestic anti-racist struggles.

Representation of Kalash in Historiographic Narrative: Interpretation and Orientation of Different Versions of Presentism

Representation of Kalash in Historiographic Narrative: Interpretation and Orientation of Different Versions of Presentism

Sercańska patrystyka

A week-long workshop at the Dehonian Studies’ Centre provided an opportunity to outline the possibility of a new research project within Dehonian Studies. Against the backdrop of reflections on Dehonian traditions and charismatic legacies, figures emerge who responded to such legacies directly by putting the founding charism into practice. This article seeks to define the status of such a tradition towards the figure of the Founder and his first companions. Given the history of the origins of the Congregation, full of turning points, the list of the socalled first fathers has been endowed with some caveats and divided into several levels to satisfy the idea of the first father: a religious who, during the Founder’s lifetime, persevered in the Congregation until his death and made a significant contribution to the consolidation of the Congregation’s charism. This provides an opportunity to reflect on the history of the institute, as well as on the contemporary concept of biography, which, in a critical approach, attempts to reconcile other methodologies (commemorative, hagiographic, or positivist) that, refer to the essential needs of research, reduce the historiographical narrative. The final section of the article brings together the elements that would allow the construction of a research project while defining its possible objectives.

Faktografija i fikcija - ogledavanja u romanu Vreme smrti Dobrice Ćosića

The subject of this paper is the analysis of Dobrica Ćosić's novel A Time of Death I-IV (1972-1979), primarily from the perspective of possible worlds theory. One of the most important Serbian novels about the First World War, which critics have frequently defined as an epic novel, was inspiring for our research for at least two reasons: the first lies in the fact that historiographic metafiction is still the most prominent literary current in Serbian novelistic production, and the second is that contemporary readers have returned to Ćosić through intensive film adaptations in the recent years. The analysis and survey of the relationship between the factographic and fictional is precisely what led to the illumination and better understanding of the contemporary readers' attitude towards the so-called NEO-historical novel, which, according to Tihomir Brajović, began with Dobrica Ćosić. An interpretation of the characters in terms of possible worlds theory is at the center of attention, particularly the function of extratextual narrative identities of military leaders, statesmen, politicians, and warriors (Nikola Pašić, Aleksandar Karađorđević, Radomir Putnik, Stepa Stepanović, Živojin Mišić, Petar Bojović, Apis, and Stanislav Vinaver, among others). The specific aim of this paper is to understand the creative process whereby the characters were transformed and shaped as they made the transition from fact to fiction and, in this context, to analyze the documentary and artistic function of different types of texts that are incorporated into the narrative fabric of the novel. In particular, the author's auto-poetic comments are deemed particularly relevant to unlocking the process of metamorphosis of the historical into the fictional. Two more questions are addressed as separate research challenges: (1) the importance of the specific way in which the author constructs the so-called historical characters to form national identity in the novel; and (2) the more general issue of historical truth, with particular regard to the nature of historiographic narrative. The methodological starting point for the interpretation of the characters is provided by the tenets of postclassical (cognitive) narratology, with priority given to Hilary Dannenberg's typology of transworld identities.

The Birth of the Myth About the Byzantine-Bulgarian War of 863

The Byzantine-Bulgarian relationship from the mid-9th to the early 10th century has attracted the attention of historians for years. However, this topic is fraught with multiple myths and misconceptions. The Byzantine invasion of Bulgarian territories in 863 is one of these myths. This hypothesis became part of the master narrative of Bulgarian national historiography and significantly impacted the clarification of the actual motivation of all parties in the complex political process. However, an analysis of sources shows that the military raid under Basileus Michael III and Caesar Bardas into Bulgarian territory is nothing more than fiction. According to a new Byzantine propaganda policy, this narrative was created after the mid-10th century. This research observes how a simple interpolation becomes a historiographical hypothesis and the dominant historiographical narrative. Additionally, a new interpretation of the beginning of Bulgarian Christianization is proposed.

Ian Hacking’s Rewriting of Leviathan and the Air-Pump

Ian Hacking has argued that the book Leviathan and the Air-Pump acted as a historiographical source in his analysis of the laboratory style of thinking and doing. The present article analyzes Hacking’s appropriation of Shapin and Schaffer’s work as a rewriting of the history of English experimental philosophy of the seventeenth century. The analysis focuses on the contingency/permanence tension with the aim of investigating the two historiographic narratives as attempts to overcome what Bernstein calls “Cartesian anxiety.” First, I examine the mundane historiography of Shapin and Schaffer and their philosophical commitment to finitism as constitutive of their historiographical approach. Second, I analyze Hacking’s appropriation of Fernand Braudel’s historiography in writing a material history of experimental philosophy. Finally, I address the notion of form of life as a nuclear point in the ways that Hacking and Shapin and Schaffer seek to move beyond Cartesian anxiety.

The Jews’ Hat in Medieval Ashkenaz: Formal Attire for Everyday Men?

Abstract This article nuances the dominant historiographical narrative of the Jews’ hat as an allegedly pejorative iconographic marker of Jewish men in medieval Ashkenaz. Considering the perceptions and functions of the Jews’ hat, this article will offer new conclusions regarding if, when, and by whom it was worn. Drawing from a variety of sources in Hebrew, Latin, and vernacular languages, and on visual sources, the overall argument presented here is that the Jews’ hat was not everyday attire and that it was not likely owned by all Jewish men. Rather, featuring among the variety of hats Jewish men wore based on their socioeconomic or religious status in their communities from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, the Jews’ hat was a costume worn by those of more common status and on formal occasions when distinguishing oneself according to any urban group was required, such as during urban processions, oath-taking, public forms of punishment, or matters of civic administration.

Beyond the Dār al-Islām/Dār al-ḥarb Paradigm

Abstract For a long time, scholarship concerning the relations between the Mamluks and Christian powers has been heavily influenced by the traditional dichotomy between dār al-Islām and dār al-ḥarb. This paradigm has often led historians to misinterpret the nature of the diplomatic documents issued by the chancery in Cairo. Taking into account new perspectives on the dialogue between Muslim and non-Muslim powers, the article examines the principles underlying the diplomatic dialogue in wartime and in peacetime through the lens of Mamluk diplomatic sources. Through this analysis, the paper illustrates how the discipline of Diplomatics can offer a direct approach to reconsidering some historiographical narratives and to understanding the real nature of diplomatic exchange and its symbolic representation.

Narratives, Events & Monotremes: The Philosophy of History in Practice

Abstract Significant work in the philosophy of history has focused on the writing of historiographical narratives, isolated from the rest of what historians do. Taking my cue from the philosophy of science in practice, I suggest that understanding historical narratives as embedded within historical practice more generally is fruitful. I illustrate this by bringing a particular instance of historical practice, Natalie Lawrence’s explanation of the sad fate of Winston the platypus, into dialogue with some of Louis Mink’s arguments in favour of anti-realism about historical events. Attending to how historians seek out and utilize archival resources puts serious pressure on these arguments, motivates realist positions, and re-focuses the philosophy of history towards making sense of historiography as a part of the diversity of historians’ interests.

Haunted by the Past: Understanding History and the Aftermath of War in Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost

Abstract This article explores the spectral presence of the past in the form of skulls and emotional trauma in a story about a country ravaged by a protracted war. It analyzes Anil’s Ghost (2000), a novel by Michael Ondaatje, a Sri Lankan Canadian writer renowned for constructing revisionist and fictional historiographic narratives. The novel speaks about a phase of the ethno-nationalist civil war in contemporary Sri Lanka, and the article expounds on the deconstruction and understanding of war and history as represented in this piece of fiction. In deprecating a unilateral and cohesive representation of history, the novel presents multiple voices and subverts the notion of a single truth, thereby challenging the unity and logic of representing history in fiction. It also highlights the lingering effects of past violence and buried memories haunting the present for the purpose of closure in the form of splintered personal memories resurfacing at random moments.