Think

This week we have the partnership of Sonia Pérez Aranguren, fourth year student of Degree in History that, as result of being studying the subject of Historiography, taught by Professor Francisco Caspistegui, shares with us a brief reflection on what the figure of the historian in today's society means.

The historian with complexes and the historian complex

On many occasions, perhaps more than we would like, human beings are faced with situations that require them to reflect on what their species was, is and would like to be. Both the passage of time and changes are linked to the human condition and are, therefore, the result of positive and negative consequences that are reflected in its history.

Marc Bloch in his work Apologia para la historia: o el official document de historiador ends the Introduction with the following textual quotation :

Because of this lacuna in my first training, this essay will probably lose much, both in precision of language and breadth of horizon. I can only present it for what it is: the compendium of a craftsman who has always liked to meditate on his daily task, the notebook of a worker who for many years has handled the toesa and the level, without believing himself a mathematician. (Bloch, 1996, p. 52).

Following the present quotation and taking up the idea that precedes it, we venture to point out that there could be two types of person profiles around the story.

First of all, the worker accredited specialization Bloch refers to is a figure that, in a general way, could represent those who make up the academic community of historians. In the second place, we find the worker who has completed his or her training recently It should be noted that Bloch does not mention the latter at any time, his figure leads us to think that he represents those men who consider that their knowledge is absolute and superior to that of others.

Through this simple comparison, historians such as Marc Bloch's worker are represented, as well as people who have dedicated themselves or are dedicated to other disciplines. Thanks to the fact that history is within the reach of the whole of society, these individuals consider that they know it in its entirety and defend what they understand to be true. Unfortunately, the men in this work have what we understand as a "historian complex", in the sense that they are not aware of the misuse they make of the discipline and the mistreatment of it, the one that gives them so much and that they believe they respect so much.

Moreover, in line with the initial reflection we can understand that the more knowledgeable one is of the discipline the more conscious one is of how limited one's own knowledge is in comparison with the immensity of history. Likewise, one comes to understand the tendency of the ignorant human being, who contemplates himself as the great universal knower and the sole possessor of reason and truth. On the contrary, dedication and years of study allow us to broaden our knowledge and begin to doubt our knowledge and research or what is related to it. The author of this work alludes to the idea we put forward: "But history is not like watchmaking, nor like cabinetmaking. It is an effort to know less: therefore, something in motion. To limit oneself to describing a science as it is done will always be to betray it a little." (Bloch, 1996, p.47)

Focusing now on the historian with complexes, we understand that this is actually the one who lets history be itself without restricting it, manipulating it, or mistreating it; that is, this historian profile will move towards the search for truth and the enquiry of sources and archives that it itself offers. This individual recognizes himself as a mere interpreter and transmitter of the discipline and it can be observed that it is in this way of understanding the facts where the true vocation of the historian that Bloch mentions in his work lies. It is not a matter of pigeonholing history and thus transmitting it, but of taking into account all the histories -as far as possible-, in order to be able to cover and give answers to a large set of unknowns of the present through the past and to study the evolution of the human being in contact with his environment. This complicated exercise is defended both by Bloch and by his successor in the direction of the Annales, Fernand Braudel.

In conclusion, through this workers' history we understand the importance of our attitude towards what we learn or understand. We can choose to be that worker who listens and is in continuous training about history or, on the contrary, the one with a "historian complex" who tries to grab the attention of society and who discredits the historian who works to place discipline in the place it deserves. An appropriate choice will allow to place this discipline at the same level as other sciences, as valid and important as it. The scarce knowledge of knowledge is not a virtue, but on the contrary, it is a complete nonsense..

Marc Bloch, Apología para la historia: o el official document de historiador, Mexico, FCE, 1996, pp. 41-52.

If you liked the article, you might be interested in one of our Degrees!