«Since it permits seeing the past directly, it will eliminate at least at certain important points, the need for investigation and study»: documentary film and history of education

Authors

  • Ian Grosvenor University of Birmingham (Regne Unit)

Keywords:

documentary, documentary movement, archives, educational research, digital.

Abstract

«Since it permits seeing the past directly, it will eliminate, at least at certain important points, the need for investigation and study», so wrote Bolesław Matuszewski (1865-1944) in Une nouvelle source de l’histoire (Paris, 1898). Matuszewski’s essay was one of the first texts to consider the historical and documentary value of film. He was also the first film-maker who appreciated the historical importance of film and proposed the creation of film archives for collecting and afekeeping of visual materials. This paper will re-visit Matuszewski’s key text as a way of reflecting on the documentary movement in Britain and the value of documentary film for historians of education. Problems around the use of film in historical research will then be considered. The paper will conclude with some additional reflections on documentary film in the digital age.

Key words: documentary; documentary movement; archives; educational research; digital.

Author Biography

Ian Grosvenor, University of Birmingham (Regne Unit)

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Issue

No. 31 (2018): gener-juny

Section

Monographic theme

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