"History in Three Keys"

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that the Boxer Rebellion took place from 1898-1900, in Northern China and was waged between ordinary, lower class native Chinese peasants against the foreign missionaries. The paper explains that Cohen's book is more of a history as to how the rebellion has been interpreted, than it is of the immediate implications of the event itself and its aftermath. The paper discusses how Cohen's ideas are useful in terms of how to approach history, particularly historical events that have become especially fraught with meaning in modern culture, way beyond their immediate impact.

From the Paper:

"Paul Cohen is a professor of East Asian history with an openly postmodern orientation. The title of the book refers to Cohen's understanding of the rebellion as an event that can be viewed with a series of lenses, rather than a singular historian's lens. The rebellion is an event, experience and also a myth. Significantly, Cohen does not refer to any specific detail about the rebellion in his title; he is more concerned with describing his three-keyed approach to understanding the Boxers, rather than referring to the Boxers themselves. Even the name, the Boxer rebellion, is polluted to some extent in Cohen's eyes, because the idea of the Boxers has become so subject to political influences of people with agendas beyond mere understanding."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cohen, Paul A. History in Three Keys. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.

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