BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

    The militant historian: the concept of history in the work of Alain Badiou

    Purcell, Kerry William (2022) The militant historian: the concept of history in the work of Alain Badiou. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.

    [img]
    Preview
    Text
    Purcell, K. W. 'The Militant Historian - The Concept of History in the work of Alain Badiou'.pdf - Full Version

    Download (2MB) | Preview

    Abstract

    This thesis pivots on two suppositions: firstly, that historicism as an approach to the past remains dominant in the 21stcentury; and secondly, the work of the philosopher Alain Badiou offers an original and altogether radical riposte to this form of historiography. The work as whole is principally focused on the second of these assumptions and seeks to offer the first wide ranging analysis of Badiou’s use, development, and transformation of the concept of history. Broken into six chapters, the first five sections center on key texts in Badiou’s still developing oeuvre and examine how the growth of his philosophical ideas serve to challenge dominant conceptions of history and the role of the historian. In a hypothetical turn, the final section addresses how these ideas could transform the practices of teaching history and what it means to ‘do history’ as a meaningful endeavour. The thesis concludes by exploring what forms the ‘militant historian’ could take outside the narrow strictures of academic life.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Thesis
    Copyright Holders: The copyright of this thesis rests with the author, who asserts his/her right to be known as such according to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. No dealing with the thesis contrary to the copyright or moral rights of the author is permitted.
    Depositing User: Acquisitions And Metadata
    Date Deposited: 27 Jan 2022 17:28
    Last Modified: 01 Nov 2023 15:16
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/47368
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.18743/PUB.00047368

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    380Downloads
    6 month trend
    254Hits

    Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

    Archive Staff Only (login required)

    Edit/View Item Edit/View Item