Abstract
The subject of this article is the issue of temporal borders and their implications for writing and researching the history of the present. The aim is to challenge the idea that the present is defined by the demarcation of a “beginning” or a “starting point” that separates it from the past, arguing that this approach can lead to a theoretical impasse insofar as it rests on the normative principle of the ontological separation between past and present. This principle, which is in itself a historical construction, has been the basis of many objections to the legitimacy of the history of the present. After showing the recurrence of the search for a “beginning” of the present and critically exposing the theoretical bases of such a perspective, the article develops the hypothesis that a way out of this impasse lies in recognizing the multiplicity and heterogeneity of temporal experience and the performative and political nature of the boundaries between present and past. An analysis of the controversies surrounding the recent wave of attacks on monuments dedicated to historical personalities enables us to explore some practical implications of the arguments presented in the article.
Keywords:
theory of history; history of the present; historical time