Fwd: Reply: multiple versions (3 responses)

From: Michael Fitzgerald <[email protected]>

Wow, we are getting off track here into some philosophical stuff but in an
interesting tangent. I'd like to throw my two cents in here.

No one is or can be without biases; therefore, there can be no objective
Truth when it comes to historiography. Rather, the job of the historian as I
see it is not to make assertions but to build a case supported by evidence
that seems reasonable and is hopefully the BEST explanation or
interpretation of events currently available. This of course could be
improved upon or revised at a later date when more data surfaces.

In other words, historiography is an art, not a science, although it should
be based on evidence as far as possible.

That being said, I really like the thesis that films represent the structure
of feeling of the era in which they are produced far more than the era in
which they are set (this seems particularly true of westerns).

Michael Ray Fitzgerald, PhD
Jacksonville University
michaelrayfitzgerald.com

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