This essay considers Christopher Tomlins’ thoughts—as expressed in his In the Matter of Nat Turner: A Speculative History—on historical ethics and practice in the context of recent and ongoing controversies concerning the history of race and slavery in the American past. Tomlins endeavors to recover as much as he can relating to Nat Turner and his mentalité at the time of the infamous 1831 rebellion. He also promises a self-conscious engagement with the creation of history as an intellectual practice, and invites readers to reflect on their standpoint in the histories they create. For Tomlins this practice means a close reading of Turner’s “confession” through the work of social theorists, an approach that will likely prove controversial for some readers. For those who stay with him, however, Tomlins provides a bravura demonstration of historical methodology with implications for current debates and divisions within the wider field.

中文翻译：

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一次令人眼花缭乱的经历：特朗普时代的历史伦理与实践

这篇文章考虑了克里斯托弗·汤姆林斯的想法——正如他在关于纳特·特纳：投机历史——在最近和正在进行的关于美国过去种族和奴隶制历史的争议的背景下，历史伦理和实践。汤姆林斯努力尽可能多地恢复与 Nat Turner 和他的心态在臭名昭著的 1831 年叛乱时期。他还承诺将自觉地参与历史的创造作为一种智力实践，并邀请读者反思他们在他们创造的历史中的立场。对于汤姆林斯来说，这种做法意味着通过社会理论家的工作仔细阅读特纳的“忏悔”，这种方法可能会引起一些读者的争议。然而，对于那些留在他身边的人，汤姆林斯提供了对历史方法论的大胆展示，对更广泛领域内当前的辩论和分歧产生了影响。