Audrey TruschkeAlright folks -- Do you have questions about how historians think and make claims about the past? Ask away. #MastodonThread #Thread #history
That's a wrap. Thanks to all for participating. I'll keep doing these regularly so long as there is interest.
Rocinante06@audreytruschke Many thanks for doing this.
king khan@audreytruschke now your in better platform to share your opinion
Manoj Gramath@audreytruschke Hey Audrey, is this your time window for the Q&A on all days? 8.30 to 9.00 AM Eastern?
@ManojGramath It's not really a thought out plan, honestly.
@audreytruschke I had a few questions and I miss the opportunity every day.
Dravidaryan@ManojGramath @audreytruschke yes, could consider having a fixed time. Missed it too.
@Joker2019
Be good if it can be 2nd half. 9 ET is bang at the start of work.
@audreytruschke - don't want to appear to be demanding. Thank you for for doing this either way.
thatboy@audreytruschke do we have any definitive Indian sub continent writings about Indian life between 1500-1800? Written by a person of that time perhaps?
@thatboy I wouldn't use the term definitive, in part because there was so much variety regarding lived experiences. Even today, what would be a definitive account of Indian life? But we have a huge volume of writing from 1500–1800CE that lends insight into aspects of social and religious life on the subcontinent. Off the top of my head -- Bhakti poetry, vernacular hagiographies in various languages, Banarasidas's Half a Life, lots of letters back and forth, etc.
@audreytruschke yea I agree definitive is too strong a word for anything historical perhaps. Thanks a lot!
Allen Menezes@audreytruschke How would you validate the authenticity of a historical text?
@allen_menezes First step is to make sure that the text was written when it claims to have been and by whom it claims to have been.
One might look at manuscript evidence, internal linguistic evidence (anachronistic language can indicate forgeries), whether the dates add up, contemporary references, consistency with known sources.
Once you establish a text is real, meaning it's from the time period/context it claims, it is another matter whether it is accurate on specific information.
Abdurrahman Hussain@audreytruschke @allen_menezes I was sent these screenshots on a Twitter DM. Are these authentic?
https://mastodon.social/@AbdurrahmanHussain/103127462094796659
https://mastodon.social/@AbdurrahmanHussain/103127462094796659
@audreytruschke @allen_menezes Some of the spellings seem wrong, making me think they are forgeries? He says this is because "many of these documents predate Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster and were written at a time when English spelling had not yet been standardised." But I want your opinion, since you've written a book on Aurangzeb.
Prav🦸@audreytruschke how is it even possible that a fictional character has a real place on earth?
@Prav Definitionally, not possible.
spvenkatesh@audreytruschke How do historians collect/validate data? And how do they fill gaps or make (backward!) projections?
@audreytruschke Specifically in the context: it is said history is written by winners!
@spvenkatesh Official court chronicles are usually written by the winners, which is one reason why it is important to read them alongside other sources.
Take Akbar's reign as an example. Abul Fazl matters, yes, but so does Badauni who wrote an unofficial and critical history. There are also other official histories, before Abul Fazl, who give different views. Then there are letters, material evidence, Rajput sources, etc. Historians look at all of this, as relevant to the questions they ask.
Rajendra Kumar R@audreytruschke thought process of historians?! For ex: Like based on articrafts/ornaments, how the people lived there? For how many years, p people are living there,their health and wealth, etc
@RajendraKumar_R I am a rather textually focused historian. But you would be amazed the sort of nuanced historical claims that people can and do make based on only material evidence, such as beads in ancient India. Essentially everything we know about the IVC is based on material evidence.
Even for textually focused scholars like me, material evidence remains important. It can provide a counter narrative, even, to what texts tell us.
@audreytruschke Thank You.
Sanjay Sipahimalani@audreytruschke If the nation-state is a19th century phenomenon, are histories of the centuries before that inevitably coloured by anachronistic nationalism?
@SanSip I would say no, it is not inevitable to read the past through the nationalist lens of the present. Especially if we are aware of this risk, we can, at least largely, correct for it.
For example, if you are reading someone who claims to talk about the history of the Indian nation state in Vikramaditya's reign... you can probably just stop reading.
But, if you reading someone who attempts to uncover the nature of sovereignty and polities in ancient India, well, read on.
@audreytruschke @SanSip Really enjoy reading you.
Hello, I'm z@audreytruschke I recently read AL Basham's The Wonder That Was India. The book contains some insights about construction techniques, architecture and the buildings in towns. How do we measure the gaps in our knowledge from the buildings that were made of stuff like wood that can't survive buried for so long?
Vishnu Varatharajan@audreytruschke As a historian, what does the phrase "History is written by victors" mean to you?