Hey guys! So i am happy with doing the Rape of Nanjing/The Nanjing Massacre for my major work!
Doing some preliminary research I've come across a few ideas which I need advice/help on to find i guess a solid argument.
LochNess monster, do you mind giving me some information about narratology that sounds really interesting!!!!
IDEAS:
1. Perhaps the historiography of personality? (idk who though)
2. Ideology? Still have no clue
3. Representation of x (i have 0 clue rip)
4. Narratology of something
5. Japanese denialism of the event
6. The role of the media in recording the event or even manipulating, dikstorting and overexaggerating the event and e.g. casualties?
7. The lack of available and verifiable information
8. The reliability of photographic and oral survivor/victim evidence in the reconstruction of the past.
9. A study on a historian (IDEK WHO THIS WORRIES ME ALOT)
10. Was the Nanjing Massacre an ethnic genocide or simply a war for territory and nationalist ideologY? (what am i even doing wow)
Hopefully someone can give me some sort of guide or assistance in progressing forward! (I freally like the 9 listed above but idk how many i should include in my essay and what my overarching argument would be!)
Hi abhiroop!
I would love to give you more info around narratology (I'm a bit of a geek about it now since I spent a whole year learning about it
) I used a lot of readings and a couple of key books which developed my idea around this:
- Metahistory by Hayden White
-The idea of history by R.G. Collingwood (can be found as an online article)
- The art of time travel by Tom Griffiths
You should also ask your teacher to explain this concept more thoroughly, as we spent 3 lessons on it in our class during the year. In the end, I went with historical imagination, as this is a branch of narratology and simplified my essay a lot, so I could concentrate on my analysis.
I feel like your project with the Najing massacre actually works really well with what one of my friends did for his project - namely, have you heard of the concept of Orientalism?
I would suggest you start there, with Orientalism by Edward Said. You don't have to read all of it but you can skim through - it has heaps of good ideas around how the West has constructed an "imaginary" East to reflect their opposite. (eg. if West is orderly and perfect, East is exotic and savage, to put it simply).
This also can work strongly with your "denialism" point, which is an awesome idea by the way! You have a lot of good ideas which are all strong essay points, but I would suggest that reliability and media are two different essays (as they are both BIG ideas).
I like the idea of you exploring the period of this Nanjing regime rather than a personality (unless you come across someone you Really want to do later).
I think connecting Orientalism and either your media/evidence/denialism with the event would be a good place to start.
Also rememeber to keep on asking your teacher for advice, cause in the end they are the ones marking it!
Hope this helps
Feel free to message me privately for any more questions
I might not be able to respond as I am going away on holidays soon and starting uni this year
*squuuuuuueeeeeeaaallls of exactment, non-sarcastic* but I will try my best to get round to it when I can! I'm usually pretty punctual so don't worry