Le fantasme de la perfection originelle

Cahiers Mondes Anciens

关键词: civilization;    French historiography;    Greek civilization;    history textbook;    French publishing;    Humphrey Kitto;   

DOI  :  10.4000/mondesanciens.2075

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The notion of civilization, extensively used in the humanities during the 20th century, impacts and produces an ideology of culture and a vision of the historical process. Regarded as a scientific concept, despite a chronic lack of a valid rigorous definition, civilization is built on the fantasy of ancient Greece which innervates the cultural representations of Western historians and strongly skews their analyzes. Ancient Greece has been idealized by historiography since the 18th century, at the same time the notion of civilization appeared. The Greeks of Antiquity, described as geniuses, are presented as the origin and the perfect example of science, arts and politics. European modernity constructed its civilizational model based on a dream vision of a past society which it proclaimed itself the heir. Through the analysis of history textbooks, popular works and some great classics of French historiography, deconstructing the role given to ancient Greece in the elaboration of the notion of civilization, show the impasses and the problems.

【 授权许可】

Unknown