Silencing the Past : Power and the Production of History

Placing the West's failure to acknowledge the most successful slave revolt in history alongside denials of the Holocaust and the debate over the Alamo, Michel-Rolph Trouillot offers a stunning meditation on how power operates in the making and recording of history. Abstract: Placing the West's failure to acknowledge the most successful slave revolt in history alongside denials of the Holocaust and the debate over the Alamo, Michel-Rolph Trouillot offers a stunning meditation on how power operates in the making and recording of history Br> Silencing the Past : Power and the Production of History by Trouillot, Michel-Rolph Terms of use Silencing the Past is a thought-provoking analysis of historical narrative. Taking examples ranging from the Haitian Revolution to Columbus Day, Michel-Rolph Trouillot demonstrates how power operates, often invisibly, at all stages in the making of history to silence certain voices. "Makes the postmodernist debate come alive."--Choice "Trouillot, a widely respected scholar of Haitian history ... is a first-rate scholar with provocative ideas ... Serious students of history should find his work a feast for the mind."--Jay Freedman, Booklist "Elegantly written and richly allusive ... Silencing the Past is an important contribution to the anthropology of history. Its most lasting impression is made perhaps by Trouillot's own voice--endlessly agile, sometimes cuttingly funny, but always evocative in a direct and powerful, almost poetic way." --Donald L. Donham, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute "A sparkling interrogation of the past. ... A beautifully written, superior book." --Foreign Affairs "Silencing the Past is a polished personal essay on the meanings of history. ... [It] is filled with wisdom and humanity." --Bernard Mergen, American Studies International "An eloquent book." --Choice "Written with clarity, wit, and style throughout, this book is for everyone interested in historical culture." --Civilization "A beautifully written book, exciting in its challenges." --Eric R. Wolf "Aphoristic and witty ... a hard-nosed look at the soft edges of public discourse about the past." --Arjun Appadurai Descriptive content provided by Syndetics"! a Bowker service In This Provocative Analysis Of Historical Narrative, Michel-rolph Trouillot Demonstrates How Power Operates, Often Invisibly, At All Stages In The Making Of History To Silence Certain Voices. From The West's Failure To Acknowledge The Haitian Revolution, The Most Successful Slave Revolt In History, To The Continued Debate Over Denials Of The Holocaust, And The Meaning Of Columbus's Arrival In The Americas, Trouillot Shows Us That History Is Not Simply The Recording Of Facts And Events, But A Process Of Actively Enforced Silences, Some Unconscious, Others Quite Deliberate. The Power In The Story -- The Three Faces Of Sans Souci -- An Unthinkable History -- Good Day, Columbus -- The Presence In The Past. Michel-rolph Trouillot. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 157-186) And Index. A thought-provoking postmodernist analysis of historical narrative. Taking examples ranging from the Haitian Revolution to Columbus Day, Michel-Rolph Trouillot demonstrates how power operates, often invisibly, to silence certain voices at all stages in the making of history.--From publisher description