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Historiography and Poststructuralism Jonathan Sterne “Historiography” generally refers to the writing of history, the history of history and the philosophy of history. This course aims to expose students to issues in all three domains of historiography, especially as they pertain to the writing of communication history. How does one consider historical documents as evidence of the past without falling into naïve positivism? How can we consider historical documents as texts without losing the ability to make claims on reality? Recurring course themes will include the construction of historical problems and objects; forms and conceptualizations of time and historical continuity and change; modes of historical description; the epistemology of archives, documents, and memories; and the state of the fields of communication historiography. As we consider these facets of historiography, we will set them against the philosophical issues raised by a loose aggregate of texts imported into North America under the unfortunate (but convenient) sign of “poststructuralism.” The arrival of thinkers like Foucault, Deleuze and Derrida occasioned intellectual crises in human sciences from anthropology to literary studies. Critics have suggested that poststructuralism is anti-historicist, that its precepts make the writing of history impossible. In this class, we will consider the ways in which poststructuralist thought might enrich the writing of history, and the ways in which historical inquiry might help us work through some of the philosophical and political issues raised by the poststructuralists. To this end, readings will be a mix of communication histories (Lynn Spigel, John Durham Peters), classic historiographic writings (Hayden White, Bonnie Smith, Dominick LaCapra, Joan Scott), and key poststructuralist writings (Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Jacques Derrida). Class time will feature weekly lectures and discussions, and occasional creative or experimental in-class projects. Students will write a semester papers and help direct discussion one or more times. .pdf syllabus
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