Frank Ankersmit
Encyclopedia
Franklin Rudolf Ankersmit (born 1945, Deventer
, the Netherlands
) is professor of intellectual history and historical theory at the University of Groningen
.
Professor Ankersmit has made contributions to contemporary historiography
, philosophy of history
, and to historical method
through his analysis and use of the concepts of narrative
, metaphor
, and representation
. Ankersmit's volumes on Historical Representation (Ankersmit 2001) and Political Representation (Ankersmit 2002) for the Cultural Memory in the Present series for Stanford University Press
are examples of his work in these areas.
Ankersmit has also applied the concept of the Effect of Reality
proposed by Roland Barthes
in his essays The Reality Effect and The Discourse of History (both in Barthes 1989) to historical analysis to highlight the problems of textuality
in the discipline of history
(Ankersmit 1989).
Deventer
Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) is professor of intellectual history and historical theory at the University of Groningen
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
.
Professor Ankersmit has made contributions to contemporary historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, philosophy of history
Philosophy of history
The term philosophy of history refers to the theoretical aspect of history, in two senses. It is customary to distinguish critical philosophy of history from speculative philosophy of history...
, and to historical method
Historical method
Historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the past. The question of the nature, and even the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised in the...
through his analysis and use of the concepts of narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
, and representation
Representation
Representation can refer to:* Representation , one's ability to influence the political process* Representative democracy* Representation, a type of diplomatic mission...
. Ankersmit's volumes on Historical Representation (Ankersmit 2001) and Political Representation (Ankersmit 2002) for the Cultural Memory in the Present series for Stanford University Press
Stanford University Press
The Stanford University Press is the publishing house of Stanford University. In 1892, an independent publishing company was established at the university. The first use of the name "Stanford University Press" in a book's imprinting occurred in 1895...
are examples of his work in these areas.
Ankersmit has also applied the concept of the Effect of Reality
Effect of Reality
The effect of reality is a textual device identified by Roland Barthes the purpose of which was to establish literary texts as realistic. Barthes suggested that this textual device established the realism of the text through the use of the rhetorical device of ecphrasis .Barthes also showed that...
proposed by Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes
Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and...
in his essays The Reality Effect and The Discourse of History (both in Barthes 1989) to historical analysis to highlight the problems of textuality
Textuality
Textuality is a concept in linguistics and literary theory that refers to the attributes that distinguish the text as an object of study in those fields...
in the discipline of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
(Ankersmit 1989).