History 100 Due

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George Mason University *

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100

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History

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Oct 30, 2023

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History 100 Due: Feb 5 th , 2023 Week 2 Discussion and Lecture Questions 1.) “On the Impossibility of Close Reading: The Case of Alexander Marshack “ - Analytical Identification: Refutation - Statement of Purpose: In the end I will argue that in effect close reading does not exist, not least because any reading consists of echoes of vaguer accounts and suppressed promises of even closer readings. - Thesis: Here I will be trying to open a critique of close reading, rather than the purposes to which it is put. - Alexander Marshack (1918-2004) was one of the most prominent art historians of the century. According to James Elkins paper, Alexander Marshack is important because, “his central claim is that many Paleolithic markings-even tiny ones, at the threshold of unaided vision-are notations recording the phase of the moon.” Marshack advanced the theory about lunar calendars with this claim. 2.) “Observational Astronomy and the Problem of the Equinoxes in Early Medieval Europe (c.700-1100)” - Analytical Identification : Synchronic - Statement of Purpose : It is by studying this long-term influence of his horologium that we can begin to see Bede’s place in the history of medieval astronomy. - Thesis: “In the first instance, it offers a fresh assessment of both the doctrinal background and the textual and material evidence for Bede’s horologium, with the intention that this will help us discern more clearly what can and cannot be reasonably asserted about the venerable monk’s observational activities. In the second half of this essay, I will try to venture beyond this ultimately sterile-initial question and pursue the thesis that the real significance of Bede’s claims becomes visible only once we examine the computists and astronomers who came after him and who built on the conceptual groundwork provided by his writings.” - Gregory of Tours (c.538-594) depended on his own observations to infer monastic timekeeping for prayer from the rising times of particular stars. According to Phillip E. Nothafts paper, “the data recorded in this work is correct for the latitude of Tours at the very time of writing (c.575)” 3.) “Jacob Burckhardt, Religion, and the Historiography of “Crisis” and “Transition” - Analytical Identification: Refutation - Thesis: “In this article, I shall argue that there is a strong relationship between Burckhardt’s own historical experience in the early and mid-nineteenth century and his choice of subject and mode of analysis in these two monumental works.” - Statement of Purpose: “ To establish this point I shall focus on the category of religion, on Burckhardt’s own experience of questions of religious truth and skepticism in the nineteenth century, and on his treatment of religion in these two works.” - Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897) of Basel, Switzerland, was a distinguished Swiss-German historian known for writing The Age of Constantine the Great and The Civilization of the renaissance in Italy. According to Thomas Albert Howard, Jacob Burkhardt represented the character and meaning of the Renaissance as a crucial “transitional period” in the making of modern Western society.

4.) “Periodization in European and World History” - Analytical Identification: Diachronic - Thesis: Those who ordered our divisions of past time had different values, different priorities, and different methodologies from our own. It is time that we address these matters, and it is hoped that this article will provide a basis for discussion and debate. - Statement of Purpose: The article explores the relationship between western and world periodization, and it seeks to identify those forces in the profession that confirm standard practices as well as those that advocate new orientations.

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