On the Edge of the Cliff: History, Language and Practices (Parallax: Re-visions of Culture and Society)

The importance of history has been powerfully reaffirmed in recent years by the appearance of major new authors, pathbreaking works, and fresh interpretations of historical events, trends, and methods. Responding to these developments, Roger Chartier engages several of the most influential writers of cultural history whose works have spread far beyond academic audiences to become part of contemporary cultural argument. Challenging the assertion that history is no more than a "fiction-making operation" Chartier examines the relationships between history and fiction and proposes new foundations for establishing history as a specific kind of knowledge. Michel de Certeau's description of Michel Foucault's writings as "on the edge of the cliff," provides Chartier with an image he finds appropriate not only for Foucault but for many other recent historians—including de Certeau. Exploring the relationships between discursive practices and nondiscursive practices, Chartier examines the "heterology" of de Certeau pursues the "chimera of origin" and the causes of the French Revolution in Foucault's work; and raises four pertinent questions for the metahistory of Hayden White. He follows the work of Louis Marin into the distinctions between interpreting a painting and interpreting a text. And a trio of essays treats the historical sociology of Norbert Elias and his work on power and civility. Throughout, Chartier keeps his focus on historians who have stressed the relations between the products of discourse and social practices. The Johns Hopkins University Press Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page vii) Introduction (page 1) PART 1 FICTION AND KNOWLEDGE 1 History between Narrative and Knowledge (page 13) 2 Four Questions for Hayden White (page 28) 3 Michel de Certeau: History, or Knowledge of the Other (page 39) PART 2 DISCURSIVE AND SOCIAL PRACTICES 4 The Chimera of the Origin: Archaeology of Knowledge, Cultural History, and the French Revolution (page 51) 5 Discourses and Practices: On the Origins of the French Revolution (page 72) 6 Texts, Forms, and Interpretations (page 81) 7 The Powers and Limits of Representation (page 90) PART 3 FIGURATION AND HABITUS: NORBERT ELIAS 8 Self-consciousness and the Social Bond (page 107) 9 The Double Blind and Detachment (page 124) 10 Sports, or The Controlled Decontrolling of Emotions (page 132) Epilogue Friendship with History: Philippe Ariès (page 145) Notes (page 165) Index (page 189) A collection of 11 essays that originally appeared between 1986 and 1994, addressing the study of the forms, uses, and effects of print culture in the societies of the modern age, from the 16th century to the 18th, particularly ancien regime France. Examines the work of theorists including Michel Foucault, Michel de Certeau, and Norbert Elias. Subjects include the origins of the French Revolution, the powers and limitations of representation, and self-consciousness and the social bond. Paper edition (unseen), $15.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR "On the edge of the cliff": this image, which Michel de Certeau used to describe the work of Michel Foucault, seems to me appropriate for all intellectual approaches having at their heart relations between the products of discourse and social practices.