Annals (according to Hayden White)- A way of recounting history, usually consisting of a list of evens in chronological order. They are represented in such as way as to present themselves as being morally absent and story-less. Annals lack information of the annalist's subjectivity, and terminate rather than conclude. They pose as being objective lists of the truth but do not mention the reasoning for why certain events are listed and others are left out.

 Binary- n. : something made of or based on two things or parts: as a : binary star b : a binary number system

(Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Binary oppositions- Obvious ones: black/white, good/evil, right/wrong, light/dark, life/death. Consist of words/ideas that require an opposite in order to be defined (i.e. light can be defined as an absence of dark, and likewise dark an absence of light). Binary oppositions focus so much on the opposition that they often overlook any area in between (gray area).

Contingency (Toews, "Historiography as Exorcism...")-1 : the quality or state of being contingent 2 : a contingent event or condition: as a : an event (as an emergency) that may but is not certain to occur b : something liable to happen as an adjunct to or result of something else

Contingent- 1: likely but not certain to happen 2 : not logically necessary; 3 a : happening by chance or unforeseen causes b : subject to chance or unseen effects c : intended for use in circumstances not completely foreseen 4 : dependent on or conditioned by something else 5 : not necessitated: determined by tree choice

(Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Deconstruction- A concept central to postmodernism, this is a process of rigorously analyzing and making apparent the assumptions, judgments and values that underlie social arrangements and intellectual ideas.

Derrida, Jacques (1930- )- developed deconstruction as a technique for uncovering the multiple interpretations of texts. Influenced by Heidegger and Nietzsche, Derrida suggests that all text has ambiguity and because of this the possibility of a final and complete interpretation is impossible.

Derrida, Jacques: Deconstruction-  For Derrida, language or 'texts' are not a natural reflection of the world. Text structures our interpretation of the world. Following Heidegger, Derrida thinks that language shapes us: texts create a clearing that we understand as reality. Derrida sees the history of western thought as based on opposition: good vs. evil mind vs. matter, man vs. woman, speech vs. writing. These oppositions are defined hierarchically: the second term is seen as a corruption of the first, the terms are not equal opposites. Derrida thought that all text contained a legacy of these assumptions, and as a result of this, these texts could be re-interpreted with an awareness of the hierarchies implicit in language. Derrida does not think that we can reach an end point of interpretation, a truth. For Derrida all texts exhibit 'differance': they allow multiple interpretations. Meaning is diffuse, not settled. Textuality always gives us a surplus of possibilities, yet we cannot stand outside of textuality in an attempt to find objectivity. One consequence of deconstruction is that certainty in textual analyses becomes impossible. There may be competing interpretations, but there is no uninterpreted way one could assess the validity of these competing interpretations. Rather than basing our philosophical understanding on undeniable truths, the deconstructionist turns the settled bedrock of rationalism into the shifting sands of a multiplicity of interpretations.

Descriptive Chauvinism (as defined by Martha Nussbaum)- "recreating the other in the image of oneself (Nussbaum "Study of non-western Cultures")". Basically trying to erase any differences and accentuate and even create similarities. In doing so one dismisses legitimate differences in culture/method/ideal etc. and perpetuates the idea that two cultures/methods/ideas/etc. are more similar than they are. 

Descriptive Romanticism (as defined by Martha Nussbaum)- Making the "Other" exotic and emotionally/aesthetically fulfilling to a point of excess in order to combat the seemingly mundane in one's own life. Distorting the different to be radically different, a binary opposition to what one knows.

Discourse- Discourse is defined as a back and forth communication of thought by words; talk, gestures, conversation, essay, dissertation, treatise, sermon, etc. Discourse comes from Latin 'running to and fro' and discussion from Latin 'a shaking'. Discourse in the Plus system implies a give and take sharing of ideas. Using the word, discourse, presumes an intellectual component is involved in the interaction. One does not speak of discourse between gravity and the apple on the tree-unless it is a fable.

Diaspora- The dispersion of Jews outside of Israel from the sixth century B.C., when they were exiled to Babylonia, until the present time.

diaspora

• a. A dispersion of a people from their original homeland.

• b. The community formed by such a people: "the glutinous dish known throughout the [West African] diaspora as... fufu" (Jonell Nash).

• c. diaspora A dispersion of an originally homogeneous entity, such as a language or culture: "the diaspora of English into several mutually incomprehensible languages" (Randolph Quirk).

Exhibition (Mitchell, "Orientalism and the Exhibitionary Order")- 1 : an act or instance of exhibiting 3 : a public showing (as of works of art, objects of manufacture, or athletic skill). This can also be thought of in relation to false representation made authentic, which could be seen in the example of Minstrelsy or Vaudeville Variety Shows in 19^th-20^th Century America.

Exhibiting- 1: to submit (as a document) to a court or officer in course of proceedings; also: to present or offer officially or in legal form 2 : to present to view: as a : to show or display outwardly especially by visible signs or actions b : to have as a readily discernible quality or feature c : to show publicly especially for purposes of competition or demonstration intransitive senses: to display something for public inspection

(Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Foucault, Michel (1926-84)- A French philosopher and historian mentioned in at least 50% of CHID 390 readings. He was influenced by Neitzsche and known for his historical studies focusing on power relations in society by analyzing systems of knowledge. He could be called (retroactively) a founder of the CHID program as he studied comparative systems of thought in many of his written works (information found in encyclopedia. com and foucault.info/foucaout/bibliography.html)

"Gray area"- The 99% of the spectrum between the binary oppositions. Although binaries often dismiss the gray area by absence of mentioning it, it is what gives substance to the extreme ends. For example, white is a color absent of black, but also of every other color in the spectrum.

Hegemonv- This is a term used by A. Gramsci to describe how the domination of one class over others is achieved by a combination of political and ideological means. Although political force--coercion-is always important, the role of ideology in winning the consent of the dominated classes may be even more significant. The balance between coercion and consent will vary from society to society, the latter being more important in capitalist societies. . . . Hegemony is unlikely ever to be complete.

Heuristic-1: involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery, or problem-solving by experimental and especially trial-and-error methods; 2 : of or relating to exploratory problem-solving techniques that utilize self-educating techniques (as the evaluation of feedback) to improve performance (Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Historicism- a theory, doctrine, or style that emphasizes the importance of history as A: a theory in which history is seen as a standard of value or as a determinant of events B: a style (as in architecture) characterized by the use of traditional forms and elements (Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

History-

1. tale, story

2. a : a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes b : a treatise presenting systematically related natural phenomena c : an account of a patient's medical background d : an established record <a prisoner with a history of violence>

3. a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events <medieval history> 4 a : events that form the subject matter of a history b : events of the past c : one that is finished or done for <the winning streak was history> <you're history> d : previous treatment, handling, or experience (as of a metal)

(Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online) see also ‘new historicism’.

 Logical positivism- a 20th century philosophical movement that holds characteristically that all meaningful statements are either analytic or conclusively verifiable or at least confirmable by observation and experiment and that metaphysical theories are therefore strictly meaningless -- called also logical empiricism

(Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online) see also ‘positivism’.

Meta

Etymology: New Latin & Medieval Latin, from Latin or Greek; Latin, from Greek, among, with, after, from meta among, with, after; akin to Old English mid, mith with, Old High German mit

Definition: change: transformation;

[metaphysics] : more comprehensive: transcending

<metapsychology> -- used with the name of a discipline to designate a new but related discipline designed to deal critically with the original one <metamathematics> (Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Metanarrative- A story, narrative or theory, which claims to be above the ordinary or local accounts of social life. Postmodernists claim that the majority of the writings of Marx, Durkheim, Weber are offered as metanarratives, presented as capturing universal properties of social life and thus superior to local or more grounded stories. Postmodernist social theorists argue for a return to the local, the rejection of grand theory and a privileged position for science and its narratives, and an acknowledgment of the inherently political nature of all narratives.

Metanarrative- A discourse that is created by the center and known by both the center and the margin. It can be a reference point to which smaller narratives allude to or get swallowed up by. One example would be the Bible, as it has extensively shaped Western thought for the past 2000+ years.

Metaphysics- The branch of Philosophy that deals with first principles and seeks to explain the nature of being or reality (ontology) and of the origin and structure of the world (cosmology): it is closely associated with the study of the nature of knowledge (epistemology). subtle or difficult reasoning (one of the backbones of CHID).

Metonymy- a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated (as "crown" in "lands belonging to the crown")

(Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Metonvmy- Metonymy is the substitution of one word for another with which it is associated. Metonymy works by contiguity rather than similarity. Typically, when someone uses metonymy, they don't wish to transfer qualities (as you do with metaphor). The common figure "The White House said..." is a good example of metonymy, with the term "White House" actually referring to the authorities who are symbolized by the White House, which is an inanimate object that says nothing.

Mimesis-Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek mimEsis, from mimeisthai : imitation, mimicry

(Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Mimesis- the imitative representation of nature and human behavior in art and literature

imitation - the doctrine that representations of nature or human behavior should be accurate imitations

New Historicism- Images and narratives do important cultural work: They function as a kind of workshop (or playroom) where cultural problems, hopes, and obsessions are addressed or avoided. Consequently, New Historicists argue that the best framework for interpreting literature is to place it in its historical context: what contemporaneous issues, anxieties, and struggles does the work of literature reflect, refract, or try to work through?

Orientalism (as defined by Edward Said)- Three-fold and interdependent. 1) Academic study of the Orient via teaching, writing, researching, etc. 2) A way of thinking and separating the Orient from the Occident (by making them binaries) 3) The "corporate institution“ for dealing with the Orient by defining it, making statements of it, ruling over it. aka. a use of power of the West to "claim" the Orient.

Other- Perhaps one could say it is the binary opposition to "me". It is seen as the wholly different, and forms one's identity by not being a characteristic of one's identity. The "other" could be a person, a culture, an idea, a time period, a different part of the city, etc. The "other" often becomes marginalized and defined by the center of society (i.e. Europeans in the 19th century using power to define "Orientals" and "the orient").

Positivism- 1 a : a theory that theology and metaphysics are earlier imperfect modes of knowledge and that positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations as verified by the empirical sciences b : logical positivism (Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Positivism- The fundamental principle of Positivism is that sense experience is the only object of human knowledge as well as its sole and supreme criterion. Hence abstract notions or general ideas are nothing more than collective notions; judgments are mere empirical colligations of facts. Thus, according to Positivism, science cannot be, as Aristotle conceived it, the knowledge of things through their ultimate causes, since material and formal causes are unknowable, final causes illusions, and efficient causes simply invariable antecedents, while metaphysics, under any form, is illegitimate. Positivism is thus a continuation of crude Empiricism, Associationism, and Nominalism.

PostModernism- Argues that what we call knowledge is a special kind of story, a text or discourse that puts together words and images in ways that seem pleasing or useful to a particular culture, or even just to some relatively powerful members of that culture. It denies that we can have objective knowledge, because what we call knowledge has to be made with the linguistic and other meaning-making resources of a particular culture, and different cultures can see the world in very different ways, all of which "work" in their own terms. It argues that the belief that one particular culture's view of the world is also universally "true" was a politically convenient assumption for Europe's imperial ambitions of the past, but has no firm intellectual basis.

Post-modernism-  Post-structuralism and deconstruction can be seen as the theoretical formulations of the post-modern condition. Modernity, which began intellectually with the Enlightenment, attempted to describe the world in rational, empirical and objective terms. It assumed that there was a truth to be uncovered, a way of obtaining answers to the question posed by the human condition. Post-modernism does not exhibit this confidence, gone are the underlying certainties that reason promised. Reason itself is now seen as a particular historical form, as parochial in its own way as the ancient explanations of the universe in terms of Gods. The postmodern subject has no rational way to evaluate a preference in relation to judgments of truth, morality, aesthetic experience or objectivity. As the old hierarchies of thought are torn down, a new clearing is formed on the frontiers of understanding: quite what hybrids of thought will metamorphose, interbreed and grow is this clearing is for the future to decide.

Post Structuralism-  By the mid 20th century there were a number of structural theories of human existence. In the study of language, the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) suggested that meaning was to be found within the structure of a whole language rather than in the analysis of individual words. For Marxists, the truth of human existence could be understood by an analysis of economic structures. Psychoanalysts attempted to describe the structure of the psyche in terms of an unconscious. In the 1960's, the structuralist movement, based in France, attempted to synthesize the ideas of Marx, Freud and Saussure. They disagreed with the existentialists' claim that each man is what he makes himself. For the structuralist the individual is shaped by sociological, psychological and linguistic structures over which he/she has no control, but which could be uncovered by using their methods of investigation. Originally labelled a structuralist, the French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault came to be seen as the most important representative of the post-structuralist movement. He agreed that language and society were shaped by rule governed systems, but he disagreed with the structuralists on two counts. Firstly, he did not think that there were definite underlying structures that could explain the human condition and secondly he thought that it was impossible to step outside of discourse and survey the situation objectively.

 Pragmatics- relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters.

 Remembrance (Morrison, Beloved)- 1 : the state of bearing in mind

2 a : the ability to remember: MEMORY b : the period over which one's memory extends 3 : an act of recalling to mind 4 : a memory of a person, thing, or event

5 a : something that serves to keep in or bring to mind: REMINDER b : COMMEMORATION, MEMORIAL c : a greeting or gift recalling or expressing friendship or affection

(Miriam- Webster's Dictionary Online) re: ‘rememory’.

 Semantics- a branch of semiotic dealing with the relations between signs and what they refer to and including theories of denotation, extension, naming, and truth.

 Semiotics- etymology: Greek sEmeiOtikos observant of signs, from sEmeiousthai to interpret signs, from sEmeion sign, from sEma sign: a general philosophical theory of signs and symbols that deals especially with their function in both artificially constructed and natural languages and comprises syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics

(Merriam-Webster Online)

Syncretism (Clifford, "Identity in Mashpee")-1 : the combination of different forms of belief or practice 2 : the fusion of two or more orig. different inflectional forms.

 (Miriam-Webster's Dictionary Online)

Syntactics-  a branch of semiotics that deals with the formal relations between signs or expressions in abstraction from their signification and their interpreters.

"Webs of Significance"- A medium for meaning, depending on a person's era, culture, language, and experience. One can try to increase his/her "web of significance" by learning another language, for instance, as there are some ideas that don't translate across language. A language must be learned (not simply translated) in order to experience new forms of meaning.