issues (1 Viewer)

[Ludlum]

ive recently been asked to produce a draft essay of my project. i started trying to write it and i had nooo idea what i was meant to be writting about....!

i also started to think that perhaps my topic is not so appropriote...

my broad topic is Alexander Historiography and i intend to argue that it is not possible to produce a written history of alexander that is objective to all audiences, but that wateva is produced is objective only to yourself. essentially that due to the sources left to us concerning Alexander (in fact many ancient issues) not providing sufficient and unbiased information, so that it is only possible to create your own personal alexander and that to write an objective history would be to only include the statements of the original historians without any analysis of the events (source analysis would be appropriote) leaving the reader to draw his/her own conclusions and create their own personal Alexander

i would appreciate any input on this matter...thanx in advance.

 

[xeuyrawp]

ive recently been asked to produce a draft essay of my project. i started trying to write it and i had nooo idea what i was meant to be writting about....!

i also started to think that perhaps my topic is not so appropriote...

my broad topic is Alexander Historiography and i intend to argue that it is not possible to produce a written history of alexander that is objective to all audiences, but that wateva is produced is objective only to yourself. essentially that due to the sources left to us concerning Alexander (in fact many ancient issues) not providing sufficient and unbiased information, so that it is only possible to create your own personal alexander and that to write an objective history would be to only include the statements of the original historians without any analysis of the events (source analysis would be appropriote) leaving the reader to draw his/her own conclusions and create their own personal Alexander

i would appreciate any input on this matter...thanx in advance.

Hmm, you don't articulate your idea very well.

Do you mean that those who read Alexander's histories are projecting their own already formulated views onto the history? Or are you saying that the simple reader-text-author relationship influences it?

 

[Ludlum]

a little of both, im sayin that due to poor quality of sources and conflicting views etc. its impossible for a universal history to be drawn up because each reader has such a variety of perspectives to analyse that he/she can only come to their own conclusions if you understand? so in the end u cant have a finite alexander, each individual creates their own personal alexander.

incase its not clear the main questions i intend to adress is what are the purposes of history and how history has been constructed and recorded over time

 

[Ludlum]

any one?

 

[adrenaline rush]

I'm doing the historians behind the construction of Julius Caesar's Legion- or something of the sort. My issue relates to your topic as i'm investigating the historians and their construction of the Legion's history.
However... I can't talk because I haven't even started to research yet but for my two cents your proposal sounds a bit off track. It seems your focusing too much on a broad historiographical issue rather than Alexander himself.

 

[xeuyrawp]

any one?

I think the idea of history as internal constructivism is pretty well-acknowledged as fact, even in the most conservative of historical theorists.

I suppose you could still do it as a question, but the proponents of objectivism would be probably pretty few and far between...

It seems your focusing too much on a broad historiographical issue rather than Alexander himself.

I'd agree. I think it's easier when a student works from the topic to the historiography, rather than from the historiographical questions to the topic. Otherwise you lose focus, imo.

 

[fleepbasding]

Maybe you could argue the complete contrary, just to give yourself a challenge and be different. So, argue that we can, with solid methodology, paint a definitive picture of Alexander the Great.

I don't reccomend, or even believe this, but it might be more interesting.