White Noise History

Jack Gladney understands history and historiography in his own work in Hitler studies through Ranke.

“The least of my Hitler colleagues knew some German; others were either fluent in the language or reasonably conversant. No one could major in Hitler studies at the College-on-the-Hill without a minimum of one year of German. I was living, in short, on the edge of a landscape of vast shame” (31).

It is not only a source of irony but of shame for Jack Gladney to be the founder of Hitler studies without knowing German. It is assumed that all historical knowledge must be constructed from primary sources, and the knowledge that Jack does not know German is a serious blow to his credibility as a historian because it pulls into question his ability to produce history scientifically, according to the “facts.” Jack argues to the audience that using Rankian methods to construct historical knowledge is not entirely necessary to produce history, but what is essential is that the illusion of credibility is maintained. He does not question the validity of his own knowledge but rather his reputation and appearance as a respected authority on the subject.

“The chairman, Alfonse Stompanato, seemed to feel that one of the other instructors, a three-hundred-pound former rock ‘n’ roll bodyguard named Dimitrios Cotsakis, had established prior right by having flown to Memphis when the King died, interviewed members of the King’s entourage and family, been interviewed himself on local television as an interpreter of the phenomenon,” (64).

When Murray is seeking to start an Elvis Presley power base at College-on-the-Hill, Cotsakis is seen to be more qualified by Rankian standards to do so. He is qualified because he has had more first hand experiences surrounding Elvis himself and can be seen as a primary source of evidence in his own right. This provides him visible credibility and it is assumed that he will do a better job at producing historical knowledge because of his connection to primary sources. It is maintained that the (illusion?) of credibility must be maintained in order to be a good historian.

“But Blacksmith is nowhere near a large city. We don’t feel threatened or aggravated in quite the same way as other towns do. Were not smack in the path of history and its contaminations,” (85).

It is evident that Jack has a very Hegelian way of seeing the world and the town in which he lives, Blacksmith. History doesn’t “happen” to small, quiet, out of the way towns such as Blacksmith that are devoid of the world historical spirit. Blacksmith is not a significant, important place such as a large city where history does “happen.” Being “outside” of history also means that the people of Blacksmith can avoid its “contaminations” and don’t need to feel “threatened or aggravated.” This implies that history itself is seen as contaminating, aggravating and threatening. Jack argues that not only can one live “outside” of history but that history is something to be avoided.