Reconstruction et reenactment. L'Histoire et la réanimation du passé

Since the beginning of historical writing, historians, philosophers and poets have reflected on the complex relationship between history and its linguistic representation, between the narrative and the reality expressed in it, between the textual formulation of the truth requirement and the stylistic or rhetorical work of persuasion. For centuries, and even for more than two millennia, this debate has always revolved around a major epistemological problem, summed up by the French historian Ivan Jablonka as follows: "How can truth be told in and through a text? The purpose of this small foray into historical theory is to reflect on the relationship between narrative, writing, interpretation and argumentation in historical writing, and in particular on the changes in these dimensions of historical thought and work over time, notably through the emergence of the 'modern ideal' of historical narrative in the nineteenth century. Next, I would like to briefly return to the complex relationship between historical reality and its representation in sources and media, and conclude with a more general reflection on the possibilities and challenges posed by digital representations of history. But first let us delve into the history of historical writing.