"Instant" History and "Dead Man" History

[Steve Blair]

I decided start this one based on a tangent in Tom's reply to a comment of mine.

To explain the title: there are a number of schools of historical writing and analysis. Most are a blend of techniques, but there are those who rely more on the written record (the "dead man" school) and those who put more stock in first-person reports and interviews (the "instant" school). It should also be mentioned that both styles can easily be manipulated but individuals who are writing just to confirm their own theories (self-fulfilling history, as it were).

Personally, I'm more of a "mixer" in that I believe strongly in the value of oral history, but also like to see it confirmed in some way through written records. Records can lie, but so can people. Memories fade, perspectives change, and documents get lost or shredded.

Since so much of small wars theory is based on individuals and small units, I thought it might be interesting to toss this out and see what comes up in terms of favored historical techniques or approaches.

[marct]

Hi Steve,

Since so much of small wars theory is based on individuals and small units, I thought it might be interesting to toss this out and see what comes up in terms of favored historical techniques or approaches.

As you know, I've been following the same thread. I will freely admit that I am not an historian, although I have read a fair amount of history (mainly ancient history). I have always been partial to the microhistorical school coming out of Carlo Ginzburg's work. I first came across his work when I was working on my MA and I read the Night Battles and Ecstacies. Absolutely brilliant in my opinion.

Still and all, I think that his work has some excellent applications in the study of small wars - especially in attempts to reconstruct the "losers" side. I was particularly impressed with the concept of Gizburg's Razor - "All else being equal, the scenario / interpretation that requires the fewest amount of additional hypotheses is the most plausible". Then again, both Ginzburg and I do tend to deal with periods where it is hard to interview people .

Marc

[JHR]

with a bow towards Sir William I assume.
JHR

[marct]

with a bow towards Sir William I assume.
JHR

But of course .

Marc

[slapout9]

Steve Blair or anybody for that knows for that matter. I read in the original Small Wars Manual that they required that a daily operations log be kept. Does anybody know if those still exists? That would be some interesting reading

[Steve Blair]

I would assume that they do (at least in some form and most likely incomplete), but the problem lies in finding them. The Marine Corps does a good job of preserving its history (warts and all), but the nature of their involvements in Latin America means that those logs could be just about anywhere. The Marine Corps Historical Center (or the new museum) might be able to help you there.