Major Themes
Thèmes Principaux

3. The uses and misuses of history and the responsibility of the historians, past and present
3. Les usages de l'histoire et la responsabilité de l'historien dans l'histoire

Organiser:
Georg Iggers, USA

Discussant:
François Bédarida, France

Introduction:
As the third millenary is dawning, public opinion, long with historiography, demonstrates renewed interest in eschatological phenomena and teleological interpretation of current events in the light of a specific meaning granted to the Future. In this sitting, we shall try to identify the roots of such notions in the religions of the Book (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) as well as the alterations they have undergone within the secular frame of Utopia, of Futurism and of "New Age". We shall also try to achieve a new reading of many a happening in medieval, modern and contemporary history in the light of Messianic expectations or apocalyptical anticipations which have so intensily coloured the politcal and religious field to the day. We shall at last investigate the ways in which such notions, often brought about by a learned èlite, have circulated and been received by the people at large, from Antiquity to the day.

a) The Uses and Abuses of History in Pre-Modern Societies and the role of the Historian
a) Les usages et les abus de l'Histoire dans les sociétés pré-moderne et le rôle de l'histoirien

Wednesday, 9 August, 9:00-12:00
Mercredi 9 août de 9h à 12h

Building B, Auditorium 1

Papers:

• François Hartog, France
  Le témoin et l'historien
• Ku Weiying, Taiwan
  Baobian and Jingshi, on the role of Traditional Chinese Historian
• Hans Werner Goetz, Germany
  Historical Consciousness and Institutional Concern in European Medieval Historiography
• Mushirul Hasan, India
  Rewriting the History of Indian Islam

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Theme 2b Théme 2b	Major Themes	Thèmes Principaux	Theme 3b Théme 3b