Imprisoned by History

<p><em>Imprisoned by History: Aspects of Historicized Life</em> offers a controversial analysis grounded both in philosophical argument and empirical evidence of what history does in contemporary culture. It endorses and extends the argument that contemporary society is in historical terms already historicized shaped by history – and thus history loses sight of the world seeing it only as a reflection of its own self-image. By focusing on history as a way of thinking about the world as a thought-style this volume delivers a major decisive thought-provoking critique of a crucial aspect contemporary culture and the public sphere.</p><p>By illustrating the ways in which history enforces socially coercive attitudes and forms of behaviour Martin Davies argues that history is therefore in itself ideological and exists as an instrument of political power. Contending that this ideological function is the normal function of professional academic history he repudiates entirely the conventional view that only biased or bad history is ideological. By finding history projecting onto the world and getting reflected back at it the exacting history-focused thinking and behaviour on which the discipline and the subject rely he concludes that history’s very normality and objectivity are inherently compromised and that history works only in terms of its own self-interest. </p>