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Social Science Cultural

Between History and Histories

The Making of Silences and Commemorations

edited by Gerald Sider & Gavin Smith

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Dec 1997
Category
Cultural, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802009012
    Publish Date
    Dec 1997
    List Price
    $66.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442671324
    Publish Date
    Dec 1997
    List Price
    $84.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802078834
    Publish Date
    Dec 1997
    List Price
    $49.95

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Description

Since the 1980s historians have been influenced by two anthropological concepts: cultural distance and awareness of small-scale interactions. Recent work, however, has shifted away from these notions. We now see that cultures cannot be studied as units with internal coherence and that the microcosm does not represent a cultural whole.

This book proposes an alternative. Differentiation is the keyword that lets us focus on ruptures, contradiction, and change within a society. It drives us to recognize many different histories as opposed to one official history. The case studies in Between History and Histories use this new approach in historical anthropology to examine how certain events are silenced in the shadow of others that are commemorated by monuments, ceremonies, documents, and story-telling. The first set of studies explores cases around the world where the official construction of the past has been contested. The second set describes the silences voiced as a result of these disputes.

For students, this collection provides a useful overview of interaction between two disciplines. For historians and anthropologists, it offers a new vision of how history is produced.

About the authors

Gerald Sider is professor of anthropology at the City University of New York.

Gerald Sider's profile page

Gavin Smith is professor of anthropology at University College, University of Toronto.

Gavin Smith's profile page