The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With Rumors
Rumors are a challenging kind of archival material for historical research. They provide vague, unreliable and obscure information—far from the reliable source material required to write history “as it really happened.” In this article I will, however, show how the uncertainty that is characteristic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16562 |
| _version_ | 1797310433406746624 |
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| author | Sebastian Jobs |
| author_facet | Sebastian Jobs |
| author_sort | Sebastian Jobs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rumors are a challenging kind of archival material for historical research. They provide vague, unreliable and obscure information—far from the reliable source material required to write history “as it really happened.” In this article I will, however, show how the uncertainty that is characteristic for rumors opens up a chance to understand knowledge-in-the making. By looking at reports of slave revolts in the U.S. South I try to find out how people at the time grappled with contradictory information and tried to evaluate the credibility of their sources. In a moment of crisis, rumor-mongering for nineteenth-century southerners functioned as a narrative way to come to terms with their collective fear and to performatively reestablish order. In the end, rumors became collective stories that help us, as historians, to understand the ambiguous character of uncertainty that can both challenge and stabilize power structures. In that, the focus on rumors also allows us to embrace uncertainty, fuzziness and speechlessness as constitutive elements in our own writing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:43:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11d0d2b09a8149619f51e4df7edbaf16 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:43:51Z |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-11d0d2b09a8149619f51e4df7edbaf162024-02-14T13:19:06ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-933615410.4000/ejas.16562The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With RumorsSebastian JobsRumors are a challenging kind of archival material for historical research. They provide vague, unreliable and obscure information—far from the reliable source material required to write history “as it really happened.” In this article I will, however, show how the uncertainty that is characteristic for rumors opens up a chance to understand knowledge-in-the making. By looking at reports of slave revolts in the U.S. South I try to find out how people at the time grappled with contradictory information and tried to evaluate the credibility of their sources. In a moment of crisis, rumor-mongering for nineteenth-century southerners functioned as a narrative way to come to terms with their collective fear and to performatively reestablish order. In the end, rumors became collective stories that help us, as historians, to understand the ambiguous character of uncertainty that can both challenge and stabilize power structures. In that, the focus on rumors also allows us to embrace uncertainty, fuzziness and speechlessness as constitutive elements in our own writing.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16562historyuncertaintygossiprumorsslaveryslave insurrections |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Jobs The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With Rumors European Journal of American Studies history uncertainty gossip rumors slavery slave insurrections |
| title | The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With Rumors |
| title_full | The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With Rumors |
| title_fullStr | The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With Rumors |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With Rumors |
| title_short | The Importance of Being Uncertain―or What I Learned From Writing History With Rumors |
| title_sort | importance of being uncertain or what i learned from writing history with rumors |
| topic | history uncertainty gossip rumors slavery slave insurrections |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16562 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sebastianjobs theimportanceofbeinguncertainorwhatilearnedfromwritinghistorywithrumors AT sebastianjobs importanceofbeinguncertainorwhatilearnedfromwritinghistorywithrumors |