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  3. Taking the nation-state as our point of spatial reference, we can diffe

Taking the nation-state as our point of spatial reference, we can diffe

游客2024-01-11  79
问题          Taking the nation-state as our point of spatial reference, we can differentiate
     not only between historiographies on a sub-national level like
     villages and cities, but units on a supra-national level. Applied to concrete forms
     of historiography, however, we confront at least three kinds of problems that
(5)   complicate this scheme, the first of which, the ideological load of some spatial
     concepts, was put on the agenda by Edward Said’s analysis of the notion of the
     "Orient". Said has shown that though most spatial concepts initially appear quite
     neutral and innocent, they often carry important ideological and political
     implications. Like "the Orient", the notion of "the primitive", "the savage"
(10)  and the "barbarian" have fulfilled similar ideological functions in the colonial
     encounter, because—like "the Orient"—they were used as the justification of
     the domination of "the primitive" by its supposed opposite: the "civilized" part
     of the world.
          The second problem is that the spatial scope of a historical work is not
(15)  always what it seems, especially instances when we would like to assess the
     relationship between regional and national historiographies. The microcosm of
     the region functions may sometimes be substituted illegitimately for the
     macrocosm of the nation—take for instance, the confusion of Holland for the
     whole of the Netherlands, a problem that has complicated the classification of
(20)  historiographies on basis of spatial markers. The third and perhaps most
     troubling problem in our spatial scheme is the essentially contested character of
     its central concept: the nation. The nation belongs to the same category as
     notions like "freedom" and "democracy" that also refuse unambiguous definition
     and the fundamental problem in the discourse on the nation is that the nation
(25)  does not necessarily coincide with the state or even with the nation-state.
     Sometimes spatial units at a sub-state level, like provinces or tribal areas are
     represented as nations, and sometimes nations are represented as supra-national
     units, units exceeding the borders of a nation-state.
          It is not the task of professional historians to solve these practical issues—
(30)  this is a matter of politics—but to clarify the different historical representations
     in each case. Historians do not have a special task in solving political problems,
     but as professional specialists of the past they have the task of clarifying the
     historical roots of political problems,  a practice that amounts to the
     identification and the integration of the different and often conflicting
(35)  perspectives pertaining to present day issues. It is neither realistic nor
     reasonable to expect consensus in historiography; as in politics, the most we
     can strive for is a sound knowledge of the different points of view, leading to a
     maximum of empathy and to mutual understanding of past and present positions.
选项 A、The approach to the problem of spatial boundaries is plagued by a number of problems that historiographers are obliged to confront.
B、Historiographers can benefit from studying the traditional geography of nations in greater depth.
C、Historiographers should try to refrain from solving the practical issues that arise in the resolution of spatial boundary issues.
D、The categorization and demarcations of geography at the national level is more complicated than that of the sub-national or supra-national level.
E、The spatial demarcation of nations is the most complicated issue in contemporary historiography.
答案 A
解析
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