A cosa serve la Storia? Cos'è la Storia?
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the significance of history, challenging the common notion that it serves merely to avoid past mistakes. It introduces Marc Bloch, a key figure in the French historical school 'École des Annales,' who argues that history is not just a memory of horrors but an analysis of the human experience. Bloch's 'Apology for History' suggests that historians should focus on the 'mentalités'—the collective mindsets and emotions of the past—to understand the present. His work, tragically unfinished due to his execution by the Gestapo, emphasizes the importance of history in shaping our cultural legacy and the potential to transform it.
Takeaways
- 📚 The script discusses the importance of history, challenging the common notion that it's merely to avoid past mistakes.
- 🧐 It critiques the simplistic view of history as a mere memory of past horrors, suggesting a deeper analytical approach is necessary.
- 👨🏫 Marc Bloch, a leading figure in the French historical school known as 'l'École des Annales,' is highlighted for his innovative approach to history.
- 📖 Bloch's book 'Apologie pour l'histoire ou métier d'historien' ('The Historian's Craft') is mentioned as a seminal work that redefined the purpose of history.
- ❓ The script ponders the question 'What is history?' and suggests that it's more than just a record of events; it's about understanding human society and mentalities.
- 🌟 Bloch's perspective is that history should encompass all aspects of human life, including emotions, thoughts, and societal structures.
- 🔍 He emphasizes the importance of studying historical mentalities to understand the origins of current societal norms and mindsets.
- 💡 The script argues that history, when combined with disciplines like anthropology and psychology, can provide insights into the evolution of human thought and behavior.
- 📚 It points out that traditional history textbooks often fail to capture the complexity of history as understood by scholars like Bloch.
- 🌱 The script suggests that understanding the historical origins of our current beliefs and practices is crucial for mastering and potentially changing our cultural legacy.
Q & A
What is the common misconception about the purpose of studying history?
-The common misconception is that studying history serves to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
What does Marc Bloch suggest is the true role of a historian?
-Marc Bloch suggests that historians should not merely judge but analyze the past to understand what history is and its purpose.
What is the significance of Marc Bloch's book 'Apology for History or the Historian's Craft'?
-It is a significant work where Bloch aims to answer the question of what history is and its importance, written during the Second World War.
Why was Marc Bloch unable to complete his book 'Apology for History or the Historian's Craft'?
-Marc Bloch was unable to complete the book because he was executed by the Gestapo as part of the French Resistance.
How does Marc Bloch's approach to history differ from traditional historical studies?
-Bloch's approach focuses on the human aspects such as societies, mentalities, and emotions, rather than just a list of events and facts.
What does Marc Bloch mean when he compares historians to the ogre from fairy tales?
-Bloch uses the comparison to illustrate that historians, like the ogre, are sensitive to the 'flesh' or human aspects of history, extending beyond the traditional boundaries of historical study.
What was Marc Bloch's interest in the study of history?
-Bloch was interested in understanding how people in the past thought, their religious beliefs, their conception of time, and the emotions they experienced.
How does Marc Bloch view the concept of 'love' in historical terms?
-Marc Bloch considers 'love' as a historical phenomenon, similar to significant events like the Second World War, and worthy of central focus in historiography.
What is the importance of understanding historical mentalities according to Marc Bloch?
-Understanding historical mentalities is crucial for comprehending the reality that surrounds us and for recognizing that our current mindsets and ideas have origins and are not static.
How can the study of history help us in the present, as suggested by Marc Bloch?
-Studying history can help us understand our cultural legacy, dominate it, and change it, thus providing a tool for mastering and evolving our current societal structures and mentalities.
Outlines
📚 The Purpose of History
The paragraph discusses the common misconception among students about the purpose of studying history, which is often oversimplified as learning from past mistakes. It challenges this notion by suggesting that history is more than just a memory of past horrors; it's an analysis of the past. The paragraph introduces Marc Bloch, a prominent historian from the French 'École des Annales', who revolutionized historical thinking. Bloch's work, 'Apologie pour l'histoire ou métier d'historien', written during World War II, aims to answer the question of what history serves. He argues that history should not just focus on events but also on the 'mentalités' or mindsets of people in the past, including their emotions, beliefs, and how they perceived time. Bloch's approach to history is interdisciplinary, intertwining with anthropology and psychology, and his ideas are crucial for understanding the present by recognizing the origins of current mental structures.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡History
💡Marc Bloch
💡Annales School
💡Mentalités
💡Cultural Legacy
💡Second World War
💡Resistence
💡Human Experience
💡Anthropology
💡Psychology
💡Stereotypes
Highlights
The question of the utility of history is often posed by students and is frequently answered with the cliché that it serves to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Studying figures like Pericles or Constantine, or events like the Barbarian invasions, is not just about avoiding past errors but understanding the complexities of history.
The common view of history as a simple memory of past horrors is challenged by the idea that historians should analyze rather than just judge the past.
Marc Bloch, a leading figure in the French historical school known as the Annales School, revolutionized the understanding of history in the early 20th century.
Bloch's book 'The Historian's Craft' ('Apologie pour l'histoire') was written to answer the question of the purpose of history, starting from a simple query from his son.
Bloch's work was unfinished due to his untimely death as a member of the French Resistance, executed by the Gestapo.
The metaphor of the historian as a fairy tale ogre, smelling human flesh, is used by Bloch to illustrate the historian's deep dive into human experience.
Bloch argues that history should not be confined to events but should encompass all aspects of human society and mentality.
The focus of historical study should be on understanding how people in the past thought, their religious beliefs, their conception of time, and their emotions.
The concept of 'love' as a historical phenomenon is introduced, emphasizing that it should be studied as seriously as major historical events.
Bloch's approach to history intertwines with anthropology and psychology, showing the interdisciplinarity of historical study.
Despite the emergence of the 'history of mentalities' in the early 20th century, many history textbooks still present a simplistic view of history.
Understanding the structures that continue to influence our mentality is essential for comprehending contemporary reality.
The idea that something is as it is because 'it has always been so' is a mistake that historical study can help us correct.
Historical study can help us uncover and master the ideas that seem obvious to us but are not necessarily so, allowing us to control and change our cultural legacy.
History is portrayed as incredibly useful for understanding and potentially transforming our cultural inheritance.
Transcripts
a cosa serve la storia questa una
domanda che molti studenti si pongono si
risponde spesso banalmente
frettolosamente che la storia serva a
non ripetere più gli errori del passato
ma quali sono gli errori che dobbiamo
evitare studiando pericle costantino o
le invasioni barbariche
la verità è che chi parla di storia come
strumento per evitare gli errori del
passato
immagina la storia come semplice memoria
degli orrori del novecento e coloro che
hanno questa concezione sono i primi a
trovare noioso lo studio di ciò che
viene prima
ma gli storici non devono giudica devono
analizzare il passato per rispondere
alla domanda che serve alla storia e
realtà dove nascondere un'altra domanda
ma che cosa è la storia la risposta
migliore a questa domanda la data marc
bloch
egli è l'esponente più importante della
cosiddetta scuola dell anap un gruppo di
storici francesi che all'inizio del
novecento hanno rivoluzionato il modo di
intendere l'autore egli scrive un libro
per rispondere a questa domanda che si
chiama apologia della storia o mestiere
dello storico e inizia libero dicendo
che vorrei rispondere a una semplice
domanda del figlio e che papa a cosa
serve la storia e gli scrive questo
libro in piena seconda guerra mondiale
non potrà dare una risposta completa
figlia perché i morirà prima di
completare il libro essendo parte attiva
della resistenza marc bloch sarà
fucilato dalla gestapo al leone credano
vivrò france prima di morire il figlio
lo ringrazierà pubblicando questo che è
un capolavoro della storiografia
chiunque dovrebbe leggere mark blocco da
apparentemente una definizione molto
strana e mi dice che lo storico e come
l'orco della fiaba laddove fiuta carne
umana la sa che la sua preda
ma che significa marco locke così
facendo estende oltre ogni limite
i confini e compiti della storia dicendo
così marco blocco vuole dire che tutto
ciò che è umano appunto la carne umana è
l'oggetto della storia tutto ciò che
riguarda le società dire gli uomini del
passato e oggetto di storia si tratta di
un cambiamento di prospettiva che porta
a mettere da parte la storia degli
eventi a mette al centro la usi del
tasto lea delle mentalità
ciò che a blocchi interessava era sapere
cosa pensavano gli uni come concedevano
la religione come concepivano il tempo
quali erano le emozioni che provavano e
come spremevano queste emozioni
ad esempio se oggi concepiamo lavoro in
un determinato modo e perché l'amore
nasce in francia del xii secolo
l'amore è un fenomeno storico alla pari
della seconda guerra mondiale e deve
essere al centro della storiografia
quella di marc bloch una storiografia
che si intreccia con l'antropologia con
la psicologia
nonostante la cosiddetta storia delle
mentalità sia qualcosa nata nella prima
parte del novecento
ancora oggi manuali di storia sembrano
arretrati e presentare la storia come
semplice elenco di nomi fatti da te ma
la conoscenza delle cose dette strutture
vale a dire di quegli elementi che
continuano ancora oggi ad essere
presenti nella nostra mentalità è
fondamentale per comprendere la realtà
che ci circonda
quando noi diciamo che una cosa è tale
perché è sempre stata così noi
commettiamo un errore ogni cosa un
fenomeno storico anche il nostro modo di
pensare
ogni cosa in quanto fenomeno storico ha
avuto origine un dato periodo storico
così come la seta di psicoterapia ci
aiuta a fare emergere quelle dei
inconsce così la storiografia ci aiuta a
comprendere che le menti della mentalità
non abbiamo contezza la stenografia ci
aiuta ad avere padronanza delle idee che
per noi sembrano scontate ma che
scontate non sono solo così possiamo non
subire il nostro retaggio culturale
dominarlo e cambiarlo
messa così la storia tremendamente utile
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