Includes bibliographical references. / A history of failure implies several things. It can point to a chronology of the concept of failure, like so many contemporary history books that chart a minute aspect of culture. It could refer to a personal record, like a criminal having a history of violence. The implication is also there that history itself has failed to achieve, failed to describe, failed to move forward, failed to be history at all. History in this essay is not just the study of the past, but also its use in culture - to separate us from nature, to validate ideologies or to provide insight into our present. History in these terms is not a sequence of physical events, but the representation of these events. These representations exhibit curious behaviour: no matter their function they appeal to truth. History uses the language of the real to validate itself (Culler 2002: Kindle edition'), and this language is often constituted into narrative (which I will discuss in some detail later).
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/10653 |
Date | January 2011 |
Creators | Roussouw, Chad |
Contributors | Brundrit, Jean, Richards, Colin |
Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Humanities, Michaelis School of Fine Art |
Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MA |
Format | application/pdf |
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