Monday, April 28, 2008
The Future of History
Today's Sydney Morning Herald carried a great opinion piece by young historian Zoe Pollock on the ways that history is under threat in an economic and cultural climate that increasingly demands that history (like most kinds of cultural activities) justify its existence in economic terms. While we are spending our time thinking about ways to communicate history to a range of audiences, it's worth reading this piece to remind ourselves of the increasingly straitened circumstances in which the discipline and practice of history finds itself.
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4 comments:
I saw this article also and thought she made some strong pints, especially about the importance of access to knowledge as a cornerstone of democracy and the role of historians in an "information age". The article also made me think of that great old chestnut: "he who doesn't learn from the past is doomed to repeat it". The great speed with which we are asked to live today doesn't afford much time for meaningful reflection on the past, which is a worry in my book.
Now, I realise that money is needed for other valuable services such as the health and education systems. But reducing funding for cultural programs seems crazy.
Call me a lefty-loon bag, has australia's history been completely revealed in the last 250 years? Are there no more stories or interpretations which could expand our conceptions of Australia, humanity or farming?
Cultural investigation should not be left only to corporate agendas. By all means i encourage corporate interest in cultural history but there needs to be a balance.
Sincerely,
Lefty Loon Bag.
While Pollock is concerned that the corporatisation of history will make it elitist, I am just as concerned about who will have control of the kinds of history that are produced using corporate funds. In some cases the consequences may be relatively benign.
However, what will happen if a historian wants to create a project that will address issues surrounding race, class, gender or sexuality? What if these are issues that are not compatible with a corporation's image? Of course, censorship can also be an issue with government funding. However, governments can be overthrown or questioned by their constituents. A corporation only owes allegiance to its shareholders.
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