C.M. van den Akker

Historische genres in de eenentwintigste eeuw? : Review of: Jaume Aurell ed., Rethinking historical genres in the twenty-first century (Routledge; Londen & New York, 2017)

[Book review of:] Jaume Aurell ed., Rethinking historical genres in the twenty-first century (Routledge; Londen & New York, 2017) ISBN 9781138680289

Benjamin, the Image and the End of History

In his famous 1936 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” Walter Benjamin tells us that in his time art became valued for its exhibition value instead of what he refers to as its secularised ritual or cult value. This essay makes this bold claim plausible by arguing that it means that a historicising gaze no longer has a function in the reception of art. Although this argument is supported by Benjamin’s use of the concepts of authenticity and aura, it is somehow missed by Benjamin’s many readers. His essay, as it turns out, presents an end of history thesis, which foreshadows the condition of the image in contemporary media.Abstract In his famous 1936 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” Walter Benjamin tells us that in his time art became valued for its exhibition value instead of what he refers to as its secularised ritual or cult value. This essay makes this bold claim plausible by arguing that it means that a historicising gaze no longer has a function in the reception of art. Although this argument is supported by Benjamin’s use of the concepts of authenticity and aura, it is somehow missed by Benjamin’s many readers. His essay, as it turns out, presents an end of history thesis, which foreshadows the condition of the image in contemporary media.

Mink's Riddle of Narrative Truth

AbstractThe problem how to ascertain the truth about the past is as old as history itself. But until the work of Louis Mink, no clear distinction was made between questions concerning the truth of statements on the past and questions concerning the truth of historical narratives as a whole. A narrative, Mink argues, is not simply a conjunction of statements on the past. Therefore its truth cannot be a function of the truth of its individual statements. The problem of narrative truth is according to him thus: although each statement (or set of statements) asserting a relation between events is subject to confirmation and disconfirmation, the combination of interrelations as established by the historical narrative is not, even though such combination of interrelations represents a real combination in past reality and is claimed to be true. As if to further complicate the problem, Mink maintains that history shares its form with fiction. Three and a half decades after Mink formulated the problem of narrative truth, it has not been dealt with in a satisfying manner. Mink does not solve nor dissolve the problem he posed. That task is taken up in this essay. It will move us away from the vocabulary of literary theory towards a pragmatist account of narrative truth.

Ankersmit on historical representation. Resemblance, substitution and exemplification

Ankersmit has argued that the substitution theory of historical representation should be preferred to the resemblance theory. Historical representations do not resemble the past; they take the place of the absent past and function as a substitute for it. Contrary to Ankersmit, I will argue that there is no reason to prefer the substitution theory to the resemblance theory. Moreover, the substitution theory cannot account for the relationship between historical representations and the past. A third theory, the exemplification theory of representation, will be put forward to account for that relationship.Ankersmit has argued that the substitution theory of historical representation should be preferred to the resemblance theory. Historical representations do not resemble the past; they take the place of the absent past and function as a substitute for it. Contrary to Ankersmit, I will argue that there is no reason to prefer the substitution theory to the resemblance theory. Moreover, the substitution theory cannot account for the relationship between historical representations and the past. A third theory, the exemplification theory of representation, will be put forward to account for that relationship.