Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Introducing… the Society for the Study of the Past

by Marchella Ward on behalf of the Critical Ancient World Studies and Everyday Orientalism teams

What does it mean to do history in the ruins of history? Since October 7th 2023, historians have been working in the ruins of history. The deliberate destruction of archaeological and heritage sites, many of which go back millennia, has become a feature of Israel’s genocidal aggression against the Palestinians. Many have given this destruction the name ‘historicide’, describing an attack on history that goes back long before 2023 and has characterised much of the previous 76 years of Israel’s colonial occupation of Palestine. But there are other ruins too. Historians have watched as our subject associations fell into ruin, unable to condemn genocide, historicide and scholasticide – and unable to represent their members and observe boycotts against an apartheid regime. In January 2025, when the American Historical Association vetoed a motion opposing Israel’s scholasticide in Gaza, in spite of a vote by its membership resoundingly in its failure (428-88), we knew that something had to change. A new historical association was a necessity we could no longer ignore.

In other quarters, concerns have been raised about existing historical associations for some time. Various voices have pointed out that many subject organisations work less well for junior scholars, for racialised scholars, for scholars in the Global South, among others. The inadequacy of subject organisations around the issue of Palestinian solidarity is the catalyst for this new subject organisation, but we hope that this new organisation will be able to address a number of other structural issues too.

The Society for the Study of the Past is a new organisation for all those with an interest in studying the past anywhere in the world. It aims to transcend the traditional ways of periodising the past (‘classical’, ‘medieval’, ‘modern’ etc) in order to create a community where the study of the past can be a tool of emancipation.

The Society for the Study of the Past is founded on five core principles:

  1. That all history is political, and that the way we understand the past shapes the world in which we live. That a more equal future therefore requires a different narrative for world history.
  2. That the over-focus on the Global North (and white supremacy, Eurocentrism, Western hegemony, orientalism etc) are detrimental to the doing of history. That opposing and unpicking them is an ongoing and active process that includes, but is not limited to, what is usually referred to under the heading ‘decolonisation’.
  3. That the ‘view-from-nowhere’ is a fantasy propagated by those most empowered by its assumed neutrality. That a suspicion of positivism is necessary for a  more critical approach to doing history.
  4. That all history is global history, that all history is historiography, and that the traditional periodisations of the history of the world (e.g. #ancient’, ‘medieval’, ‘early modern’, ‘modern’) are of limited use. That a justice-focussed way of doing history will require the rethinking of the politics of time among other tools of history.
  5. That the boycotts of colonial occupiers are to be respected, and that solidarity with the oppressed, liberation of the occupation and a more just future are core concerns of the historian.

We are at the beginning of a journey to build a subject organisation that understands the relevance of history in the present world, and is not afraid to stand on the side of the oppressed and represent its members. Although we are not yet at a stage where we can accept membership applications, we are looking for committee members and collaborators. Critical Ancient World Studies and Everyday Orientalism launched the Society on the 18th February 2025, at our In Solidarity with Palestine II: In the Ruins of History event, and now we invite you to join us.

For more information, including how to sign up to the SSP’s mailing list and volunteer to help run the Society, please see: https://societyforthestudyofthepast.com.

Last but not least, we are grateful to the following organisations for their support:

REORIENT
IQBAL CENTRE FOR CRITICAL MUSLIM STUDIES
WORKING CLASSICISTS
ARCHAEOLOGISTS AGAINST APARTHEID
MEDIEVALISTS FOR PALESTINE

 

No comments:

Post a Comment