Ethan Kleinberg, director of the Center for the Humanities, presented a talk about his new book, Haunting History: For a Deconstructive Approach to the Past, at the Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore on Sept. 28. Haunting History was published in August by Stanford University Press.
Kleinberg’s book argues for a deconstructive approach to the practice and writing of history at a moment when available forms for writing and publishing history are undergoing radical transformation. Kleinberg advocates for a hauntological approach to history that follows the work of Jacques Derrida and embraces a past that is at once present and absent, available and restricted, rather than a fixed and static snapshot of a moment in time.“The book is an intervention in, or perhaps even a polemic against, the discipline of history and thus it is directed at historians and scholars who work in this field but it is written for anyone who is interested in the ways we deal with and come to represent the past…oh, and for anyone who likes a good ghost story,” Kleinberg said.The Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore frequently hosts author talks and book signing events. (Photos by Caroline Kravitz ’19)
Olivia Drake
Mike Mavredakis
Ziba Kashef
Andrew Chatfield