The importance of history has been powerfully reaffirmed in recent years
by the appearance of major new authors, pathbreaking works, and fresh
interpretations of historical events, trends, and methods. Responding to
these developments, Roger Chartier engages several of the most
influential writers of cultural history whose works have spread far
beyond academic audiences to become part of contemporary cultural
argument. Challenging the assertion that history is no more than a
"fiction-making operation" Chartier examines the relationships between
history and fiction and proposes new foundations for establishing
history as a specific kind of knowledge.
Michel de Certeau's description of Michel Foucault's writings as "on the
edge of the cliff," provides Chartier with an image he finds appropriate
not only for Foucault but for many other recent historians--including de
Certeau. Exploring the relationships between discursive practices and
nondiscursive practices, Chartier examines the "heterology" of de
Certeau pursues the "chimera of origin" and the causes of the French
Revolution in Foucault's work; and raises four pertinent questions for
the metahistory of Hayden White. He follows the work of Louis Marin into
the distinctions between interpreting a painting and interpreting a
text. And a trio of essays treats the historical sociology of Norbert
Elias and his work on power and civility. Throughout, Chartier keeps his
focus on historians who have stressed the relations between the products
of discourse and social practices.
