When History Questions Itself: Joan Scott and her essay “After History?” in Perspective

Abstract

The translation by Ana Carolina Eiras Coelho Soares of the essay entitled "After History?" by Joan W. Scott, presented here, aims to broaden access in Portuguese to a fundamental text for contemporary historiographical debates. Written in the context of the “history wars” in the United States and originally published in 2001, the text remains relevant by challenging naturalized conceptions of objectivity, truth, and identity in the writing of history. By historicizing the very categories with which we operate—and by demanding a critical, situated, and politically responsible historiographical practice—Joan Scott proposes an ethics of interpretation that proves indispensable in the face of contemporary disputes over memory, difference, and the future. This translation seeks to preserve the author's analytical rigor and political commitment, reaffirming the importance of her thinking for historical and gender studies and for the defense of intellectual democracy.