Write me a memory: Or, the constructions of the deaf-mute banquets in 19th century Paris
Temas
Detalles
This study challenges traditional understandings of the Deaf-Mute banquets of mid 19th century Paris by showing how they have been created by a selective transfer of certain structures of significance evident within parts of the original records of the banquets. By investigating other records and presenting an alternate interpretation based on them it demonstrates the existence of contested significance structures. Based on evidence from the records themselves, it demonstrates the processes that lead to the creation of these structures of significance, which are instrumental in forming imaginings of reality that are independent of reliance on historical fact, and shows how these imaginings have been extended to the creation of power structures within knowledge. It ends by suggesting that further research into constructions of imagined reality form an important role in defining both the historical record, and ourselves.