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Thesis Voorlopig 'De tijd kan overwonnen worden' Een geschiedfilosofisch onderzoek naar het anti- historicistische denken. Casus: de Australische Aboriginals Scriptie voorgelegd aan de Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, voor het behalen van de graad van Master in de Geschiedenis (Academiejaar 2009-2010) Christiaan Boonen (00605841) Promotor: dr. Berber Bevernage Leescommissarissen: Jan-Frederik Abbeloos en Anton Froeyman Verklaring in verband met de toegankelijkheid van de scriptie Ondergetekende, ………………………………………………………………………………... afgestudeerd Master in de Geschiedenis aan Universiteit Gent in het academiejaar 2009- 2010 en auteur van de scriptie met als titel: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… verklaart hierbij dat zij/hij geopteerd heeft voor de hierna aangestipte mogelijkheid in verband met de consultatie van haar/zijn scriptie: de scriptie mag steeds ter beschikking worden gesteld van elke aanvrager; de scriptie mag enkel ter beschikking worden gesteld met uitdrukkelijke, schriftelijke goedkeuring van de auteur (maximumduur van deze beperking: 10 jaar); de scriptie mag ter beschikking worden gesteld van een aanvrager na een wachttijd van … . jaar (maximum 10 jaar); de scriptie mag nooit ter beschikking worden gesteld van een aanvrager (maximumduur van het verbod: 10 jaar). Elke gebruiker is te allen tijde verplicht om, wanneer van deze scriptie gebruik wordt gemaakt in het kader van wetenschappelijke en andere publicaties, een correcte en volledige bronverwijzing in de tekst op te nemen. Gent, ………………………………..……(datum) ….……………………………………( handtekening) 'De tijd kan overwonnen worden' Een geschiedfilosofisch onderzoek naar het anti- historicistische denken. Casus: de Australische Aboriginals Scriptie voorgelegd aan de Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, voor het behalen van de graad van Master in de Geschiedenis (Academiejaar 2009-2010) Christiaan Boonen (00605841) Promotor: dr. Berber Bevernage Leescommissarissen: Jan-Frederik Abbeloos en Anton Froeyman “Stavrogin: ‘In de Openbaringen verkondigt de engel dat er geen tijd meer zal bestaan.’ Kirillov: ‘Weet ik. Het klopt precies, het is duidelijk en waar. Als de hele mensheid het geluk bereikt bestaat er geen tijd meer. Die is dan niet meer nodig. Een juiste gedachte.’ Stravrogin: ‘Waar wordt hij dan weggestopt?’ Kirillov: ‘Nergens. De tijd is een idee, geen object. Hij zal uitdoven in de geest.’” Fjodor Dostojevski1 “In every instant, the measure of forgetting and ruin, the ontological squandering that we bear within ourselves far exceeds the piety of our memories and consciences. But the shapeless chaos of the forgotten is neither inert, nor ineffective. To the contrary, it is at work within us with a force equal to that of the mass of conscious memories, but in a different way.” Giorgio Agamben2 1 Dostojevski, F. M. (2008). Duivels. (H. Boland, Vert.) Amsterdam, Athenaeum-Polak en Van Gennep, p. 229 2 Agamben, G. (2005). The Time that Remains: a Commentary on the Letter to the Romans. (P. Dailey, Vert.) Stanford, Stanford University Press, p. 40 Woord Vooraf Een thesis is niet enkel een interessante, verrijkende onderneming, maar is ook een beetje afzien. Maar goed dan dat ik er niet alleen voorstond. Bij deze een dankwoord voor allen die me geholpen of gesteund hebben. In de eerste plaats zou ik mijn promotor dr. Berber Bevernage willen bedanken. Niet enkel gaf hij mij geheel de vrijheid een onderwerp naar mijn hart te kiezen, ook stond hij me regelmatig bij met leestips, regelmatige bijeenkomsten en even regelmatige verbeteringen. Daarnaast toonde hij zich op alle momenten enthousiast en geïnteresseerd, hetgeen uiteraard zeer motiverend was. Ook de leden van de TAPAS-groep – specifieker de deelnemers aan de Koselleck- leesgroep – verdienen hier een korte vermelding voor de interessante discussies die bepaalde problemen of passages voor mij in een nieuw licht zetten. Natuurlijk is het schrijven van een thesis allesbehalve een louter academische aangelegenheid, ook daarbuiten werd ik altijd gesteund. Hier zou ik dan vooral mijn ouders willen bedanken omdat ze mij de kans gaven om vier jaar in Gent te studeren. Ook hebben ze me op elk moment onvoorwaardelijk gesteund. Nog een extra bedankje voor mijn mama omdat zij me de laatste maanden extra in de watten heeft gelegd, en eentje voor mijn papa om mijn thesis na te lezen. Mijn vrienden zou ik dan willen bedanken omdat ze me af en toe achter mijn scherm of de boeken vandaan kregen, zodat ik ook nog eens een stukje van de wereld te zien kreeg. Thomas krijgt nog een extra vermelding voor het nalezen van mijn thesis en de interessante (en pertinente) opmerkingen. Tot slot zou ik Lise willen bedanken voor vanalles en nog veel meer. Niet enkel was ze mijn steun en toeverlaat, ook dwong ze me regelmatig mijn eigen ideeën in twijfel te trekken, zorgde ze in perioden van stress regelmatig voor vertier en verdroeg ze mij op de momenten wanneer ik wat minder aanwezig was. Inhoudstafel Inleiding ….......................................................................................................................... I Een persoonlijke bespiegeling …............................................................................ I Een hardnekking verleden .....................................................................................II 'People without history' …......................................................................................III De Westerse historische tijd …...............................................................................V De vraagstelling …..................................................................................................VI Opbouw …............................................................................................................VII Verantwoording …...............................................................................................VIII Deel 1 : Een antropologie van de geschiedenis …......................................................1 Hoofdstuk 1. Reinhard Koselleck: een Neue Zeit in de Neuzeit …........................1 Extra-linguïstische voorwaarden ….........................................................................1 Heideggers invloed …..............................................................................................4 Ervaring en verwachting …......................................................................................5 Twee kritieken ........................................................................................................9 Hoofdstuk 2. Giorgio Agamben: Ritueel en Spel..................................................11 Mythe, spel enritueel ...........................................................................................12 Het wilde denken .................................................................................................13 Het spelen ............................................................................................................15 Cold en hot societies .............................................................................................18 Warm societies? ...................................................................................................20 Hoofdstuk 3. Marshall Sahlins en de structure of conjuncture ….......................23 The structure of conjuncture ….............................................................................24 The working misunderstanding ….........................................................................27 Voorlopig besluit .....................................................................................................28 Deel 2 : Een casus, Australië en de Aboriginals …...................................................31 Hoofdstuk 4. Een kort historisch overzicht ….......................................................31 1788 – 1888 ..........................................................................................................31 “Wat vanaf het begin der tijden verborgen was ...” …..........................................37 1890 – 2000 ..........................................................................................................43 Culturele genocide? 'Bringing them home' en assimilatie ….................................49 Hoofdstuk 5. Twee historiciteitsregimes, twee visies op de Australische geschiedenis ............................................................................................................56 Twee historiciteitsregimes ….................................................................................56 Het historiciteitsregime van de Aboriginals ….......................................................59 Het historiciteitsregime van de Euro-Australiërs …...............................................67 Het Euro-Australische historiciteitsregime in praktijk ….......................................72 Het Aboriginal historiciteitsregime in praktijk …...................................................83 Deel 3 : Het verzet tegen de ‘terreur van de geschiedenis’ …...............................94 Hoofdstuk 6. Mircea Eliade: Time can be overcome …........................................95 De eeuwige terugkeer ..........................................................................................95 Naar een kritiek ..................................................................................................102 Hoofdstuk 7. Walter Benjamin: De Politiek van
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