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age of William A. Dunning
Title
The age of William A. Dunning: the realm of myth meets the yellow brick road.
Creator
Barsalou, Kathleen P., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of History
Abstract/Description
Stripped of the intent of its author, L. Frank Baum, the children's fairy tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was left to be understood only within a changing cultural construct. Historian Hayden White, arguing that the similarities between a novel and a work of history were more significant than their differences, insisted that history was preeminently a subsection of literature. According to White, historical narratives were manifestly verbal fictions, and the only acceptable grounds upon which...
Show moreStripped of the intent of its author, L. Frank Baum, the children's fairy tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was left to be understood only within a changing cultural construct. Historian Hayden White, arguing that the similarities between a novel and a work of history were more significant than their differences, insisted that history was preeminently a subsection of literature. According to White, historical narratives were manifestly verbal fictions, and the only acceptable grounds upon which the historian should choose his historical perspective were the moral and the aesthetic. White conflated historical consciousness with myth and blurred the boundary that had long divided history from fiction. Just as changing cultural concerns infused the Dorothy of Baum's children's literature with meaning so social, cultural, and moral imperatives came to dictate the content of historical stories particularly in the historiography of the Reconstruction era. The twenty first century conception of Reconstruction is different from the conception influential at the start of the twentieth. In assessing the scholarship of William A. Dunning, contemporary historians have adopted a new paradigm when describing the scholar's Reconstruction accounts. Modern commentators reject Dunning's authorial intention and the contextual framework needed to define it. Thus, Dunning has receded into the "realm of myth." Careful attendance to Dunning's historical context, contemporary audience, and his authorial intent, will reposition the perspective for analysis of Dunning's work. Removing Dunning from abstract analysis will allow historians to arrive at an understanding of his work, and view the importance of the real Dunning, rather than the fabricated image constructed from a partial and even fragmented reading of his work., Taking Dunning on his own terms restores a meaningful past and brings into bas-relief the tremendous advances the U. S. of twenty first century has made in reshaping social and political patterns.Taking theReconstruction era on its own terms impels historians to move beyond Dunning and return in their research to revisit primary records and documents as they work to clear the grisly ground of Reconstruction historiography for further fruitful examination.
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Date Issued
2008
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/107801
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, Political and social views, Criticism and interpretation, Wizard of Oz (Fictitious character), Oz (Imaginary place), Politics and literature, Criticism and interpretation
Format
Document (PDF)
William A. Dunning revisited: The mind or malice of Reconstruction?
Title
William A. Dunning revisited: The mind or malice of Reconstruction?.
Creator
Barsalou, Kathleen P., Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of History
Abstract/Description
Historian William A. Dunning was responsible for the first scholarly treatment of the Reconstruction era. The terms which his contemporaries used to describe him differ strikingly from those historians may choose today. Since the 1930s, American historiography has reflected the new emphasis on sociology and psychology with a radical shift in subject matter away from the traditional political focus. Surely, certain truths are known to the modern historian which were not known to those who...
Show moreHistorian William A. Dunning was responsible for the first scholarly treatment of the Reconstruction era. The terms which his contemporaries used to describe him differ strikingly from those historians may choose today. Since the 1930s, American historiography has reflected the new emphasis on sociology and psychology with a radical shift in subject matter away from the traditional political focus. Surely, certain truths are known to the modern historian which were not known to those who lived earlier. However, to discard the insights of one generation of historians is, perhaps, to ignore some of history's most important resources.
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Date Issued
2001
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12826
Subject Headings
Biography, History, United States
Format
Document (PDF)