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Citation Type. Has PDF. Publication Type. More Filters. The politics of heroes through the prism of popular heroism.
In modern day Britain, the discourse of national heroification is routinely utilised by politicians, educationalists and cultural industry professionals, whilst also being a popular concept to … Expand.
Highly Influenced. Our aim is to challenge students to look beyond the popular view or perception of famous historical figures, and to examine how reputations could be made and lost, interpreted and reinterpreted over time. Essentially we are giving our students a course in sources and methods though without telling them , and, along the way saying something about Scotland and Scottish identity. Our choice of figures has been constrained by the need to select individuals on whom there already exists an accessible academic literature.
But, it is our belief that in creating and sustaining a reputation the work of academics is not of particular significance. In challenging the popular view of a figure, we have become increasingly aware of how difficult it is to make much if any impact upon that perception beyond the lecture theatre or seminar room.
In the face of an icon like Wallace — and the power with which the legend can be represented in a medium like film — then academic criticism of « Braveheart » can be so much pissing in the wind. It seems clear that the popular image of famous figures, as revealed in chap books, short pamphlets, even spoken stories, relied partly on some awareness of the recognised authorities on the lives of the individuals concerned.
What we are suggesting is that once an image has become established it is remarkably immune to academic criticism and revision.
In fact, we want to go backwards in a sense, and examine where these preconceptions come from. What are the factors or ingredients that go together to cement a reputation? Is there a folk tradition, and if so, how is it expressed? Are literature and other forms of artistic representation critical in making a popular reputation? Are visual images particularly important, given that they can sum up a life in a short series of vignettes that are easy to remember?
Does the professional heritage industry have an important role to play? The popular image — what makes it? The popular image need not be a singular view, but what goes into the recipe which creates a genuinely popular image? By this we mean, a figure who is instantly recognisable among the mass of the population, not just among academics or enthusiasts. How do we research a popular image? What stress or explanatory power should we give to various elements? Could we quantify the process by which a reputation is made?
For instance, the number of statues commemorating a specific figure, the number of streets named after a figure? Is there a national model of the popular historical figure? Or, put another way, do these figures and their enduring popularity say anything about national histories and identities? In the late s Batsford, and in Longman brought out series aimed at young readers. The intent clearly being the admirable one of introducing young readers to historical debate and interpretation. The general editorial preface asserts that:.
It echoes the thinking behind our own taught course. It seems to us that this is the direction biography ought to take if it is to make a serious contribution to historiography.
It is similar to the argument of Richard Holmes in his call for « virtually a new discipline, which might be called comparative biography » Holmes, , p. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees. And just when we thought we were doing something new and interesting, we discover we are in the middle of a backlash. That said, biographical studies ignore the personal life of their subject at their peril.
The human aspects of « a life », the narrative of an individual life history can help to humanise history. Or own course insists that students appreciate the « life and times » of the selected figures, as well as their subsequent reputations. What is distinctive about our approach is that firstly we are operating on a national basis and would welcome parallel national studies.
Secondly, that our concern is with the popular perception more than the academic analysis. To paraphrase Richard Finlay, « we do not wish to destroy the myth, but to understand it » Finlay, , p. Or, has a popular reputation nothing to do with significance, but more with a dramatic or romantic life story that simply captures the imagination in the way that a fictional character might?
Thousands of people must walk past that statue every day but how many even bother to look at it? That lack of interest may be because such public structures, over time, simply fade into the background, becoming part of the urban wallpaper.
We no longer look at them because we are so familiar with them. It is the tourist who stops to look and admire, not the local inhabitant. Not among academics. Historically and intellectually there has been considerable interest in Chalmers through attention given to the Disruption and to reform of the poor law. A lot of this interest had been to debunk his reputation, but at least he has not been ignored by historians; a quick check list of publications would indicate that.
There can be no doubt that Chalmers was a giant of nineteenth century Scotland, a man whose life and memory was revered by many. Moreover, it does not seem beyond the bounds of probability to imagine that with the rise of the New Right in the s and s, and even with New Labour in the s, Chalmers may have been rediscovered as having a contemporary relevance to the issues of welfare and community. Judging by entries in the annual index to the Glasgow Herald , Chalmers was referred to quite often in the pre years and during the First World War itself.
After , however, he is mentioned only fleetingly if at all. Perhaps the reality of mass, long-term structural unemployment alongside working class animosity to the means test explains the lack of references to Chalmers. Yet, Protestant Scotland in the inter-war years, was searching for the « godly commonweal » that had so exercised the « reverend professor ». Two items of interest are immediately apparent about this structure.
One is that it is literally in the shadow of the Scott Monument. The second is that there is no detail other than a single word, « Livingstone ». David Livingstone has been the subject of a series of recent biographies but then so has Chalmers, if not to quite the same extent.
American Historical Review 91, no. Shippen, Katherine B. Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Spear, David.
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