Hegelian historiography: disrupting social order

In the perspective of many historians, the development of language was a powerful weapon of conquest used to dictate the destiny of a civilization. The study of historical writing, otherwise known as historiography, has allowed the modern world to acknowledge and gain insight on the structure and traditions of ancient civilizations. Under the influence of the Enlightenment’s preoccupation with reason, a German philosopher by the name of Friedrich Hegel was responsible for the institution of western methods of historiography in regards to Africa. As historians continue to analyze Africa’s past by translating pictographs, Hegel’s teachings are challenged and at times proved inaccurate due to the “ philosopher’s theory that history is regulated by the ideas revealed in historical forces.” The racialized view of Africa was emphasized through Hegel’s Philosophy of History, in which he wrote, “ The Negro, as already observed, exhibits the natural man in his completely wild and untamed state. There is nothing harmonious with humanity to be found in this type of character.

At this point, we leave Africa, not to mention it again. For it is no historical part of the World; it has no movement of development to exhibit. Egypt will be considered in reference to the passage of the human mind from its Eastern to its Western phase, but it does not belong to the African Spirit.” Even in a nation founded on the principle of equality, Hegel’s beliefs continue to hold an impact on American society, whether portrayed through written articles, documentaries, or even the manner in which people view each other. Within the article Keepers of the Lost Ark, the readers are able to identify elements of Hegelian historiography through the form in which the author speaks of Africa.