Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Jan 14, 2008 3:55:07 GMT -6
Let me preface by saying that (a) this is not the final draft and (b) I am not connected or affiliated with the Universita in any way. This simply seemed the best place for this.
Recently Ieremiác'h Ventrútx of the Republic made available to all a set of historical Talossan documents, once thought lost with the rest when King Robert I (also called King Ben or R. Ben Madison) spitefully destroyed those in his possession, hacking off his nose with great success. Among these is the Berber Project, the brief treatise written by Robert I which makes a case for the traditional "inexplicable and inextricable" connection Talossa historically possesses to the Berber peoples of Africa. This review and analysis is intended to be the beginning of a series of looks at Talossan literature and history, designed by the Ministry of Stuff to serve as a framework through which new citizens can read and learn these primary sources. They will be able to absorb the whimsy of our culture without also taking in the sometimes questionable slant placed upon the material by the author(s).
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King Robert I was Talossa's first King, occupying the throne from 1979-1987 and again after the Restoration of Rouergue from 1988-2005. One of his many Talossan books was The Berber Project, which sought to prove historically a thesis that was already a Talossan tradition: that Talossa had an "inexplicable and inextricable" connection to the Berber peoples of Northern Africa. The purpose and justification ("The Berber Project represents a long-established pattern through which dink peoples seek to acquire a glorious past by putting their own slant on history.") is tongue-in-cheek, but the research and writing are quite real, thanks to Robert I's MA in history and scholarship. The way in which Robert I sought to justify this draws from an exceedingly thorough selecting from historical theories, constructing a tortuously possible timeline and series of events which could indeed conceivably have occurred and which would indeed constitute that connection. There are a variety of mitigating factors which call key areas into question, but no one step appears to be factually wrong when some of his sources are reviewed.
The main flaw within the book is that a variety of personal beliefs, even beyond natural Talossan enthusiasm intent on patriotic fun, strongly color Robert I's conclusions and writing. This was one of the most frequently-leveled accusations against Robert I, and to a certain extent is justified. For example, Robert I was a devout member of the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, and The Berber Project reflects this by drawing from Mormon historical sources of questionable accuracy in order to speculate that Talossa-dwelling Native Americans had originally been Christian, a conclusion entirely aside from the purpose of the book, and one which is based in Mormon belief (the belief that Jesus left the Middle East after his crucifixion and went to teach in America), but not held to be accurate according to mainstream historical scholarship.
A second flaw is a certain lack of objectivity. It is generally accepted that, inasmuch as is possible, a historian should refrain from blatant ethnocentrism. This is not to argue for absolute objectivity, a naturally impossible goal, but there is agreement that, within limits, it is not proper to judge other cultures by the standards of one's one culture. Robert I tends to ignore this guideline, which is perhaps reflective of the seriousness with which he actually approached the book. Other papers by Robert I, such as those published in the Whitmer Historical Review, are markedly more professional. In contrast, The Berber Project refers to a Native American burial practice as "disgusting" and often heads chapters with such lighthearted but telltale titles as "Donatism [Christianity] Rules! Wooooh!"
These complaints aside, The Berber Project is a wonderful and thoroughly Talossan work. The plausible but humorously improbable thesis asserts that the Berber peoples have a plenitude of Talossan connections in historical fact, including being the partial progenitors of Spain, Scandinavian, and Germanic culture; creating the Megalithic, Beaker, Old Copper, Moundbuilder, Hokan, and Moroccan civilizations; inventing a language which the modern Talossan language happens to resemble in numerous ways; inventing wargaming; and a host of other such things. Support for these suppositions includes serious historical treatises and analysis, as well as whatever tongue-in-cheek assumptions happen to serve at the moment. In assessing the ultimate veracity of the book, a reader would be well-advised to take into account a slogan found in the first chapter, in which Robert I quotes himself when he says, "As a great Talossan once said, 'It is highly possible, and therefore true.'"
Recently Ieremiác'h Ventrútx of the Republic made available to all a set of historical Talossan documents, once thought lost with the rest when King Robert I (also called King Ben or R. Ben Madison) spitefully destroyed those in his possession, hacking off his nose with great success. Among these is the Berber Project, the brief treatise written by Robert I which makes a case for the traditional "inexplicable and inextricable" connection Talossa historically possesses to the Berber peoples of Africa. This review and analysis is intended to be the beginning of a series of looks at Talossan literature and history, designed by the Ministry of Stuff to serve as a framework through which new citizens can read and learn these primary sources. They will be able to absorb the whimsy of our culture without also taking in the sometimes questionable slant placed upon the material by the author(s).
-------
King Robert I was Talossa's first King, occupying the throne from 1979-1987 and again after the Restoration of Rouergue from 1988-2005. One of his many Talossan books was The Berber Project, which sought to prove historically a thesis that was already a Talossan tradition: that Talossa had an "inexplicable and inextricable" connection to the Berber peoples of Northern Africa. The purpose and justification ("The Berber Project represents a long-established pattern through which dink peoples seek to acquire a glorious past by putting their own slant on history.") is tongue-in-cheek, but the research and writing are quite real, thanks to Robert I's MA in history and scholarship. The way in which Robert I sought to justify this draws from an exceedingly thorough selecting from historical theories, constructing a tortuously possible timeline and series of events which could indeed conceivably have occurred and which would indeed constitute that connection. There are a variety of mitigating factors which call key areas into question, but no one step appears to be factually wrong when some of his sources are reviewed.
The main flaw within the book is that a variety of personal beliefs, even beyond natural Talossan enthusiasm intent on patriotic fun, strongly color Robert I's conclusions and writing. This was one of the most frequently-leveled accusations against Robert I, and to a certain extent is justified. For example, Robert I was a devout member of the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, and The Berber Project reflects this by drawing from Mormon historical sources of questionable accuracy in order to speculate that Talossa-dwelling Native Americans had originally been Christian, a conclusion entirely aside from the purpose of the book, and one which is based in Mormon belief (the belief that Jesus left the Middle East after his crucifixion and went to teach in America), but not held to be accurate according to mainstream historical scholarship.
A second flaw is a certain lack of objectivity. It is generally accepted that, inasmuch as is possible, a historian should refrain from blatant ethnocentrism. This is not to argue for absolute objectivity, a naturally impossible goal, but there is agreement that, within limits, it is not proper to judge other cultures by the standards of one's one culture. Robert I tends to ignore this guideline, which is perhaps reflective of the seriousness with which he actually approached the book. Other papers by Robert I, such as those published in the Whitmer Historical Review, are markedly more professional. In contrast, The Berber Project refers to a Native American burial practice as "disgusting" and often heads chapters with such lighthearted but telltale titles as "Donatism [Christianity] Rules! Wooooh!"
These complaints aside, The Berber Project is a wonderful and thoroughly Talossan work. The plausible but humorously improbable thesis asserts that the Berber peoples have a plenitude of Talossan connections in historical fact, including being the partial progenitors of Spain, Scandinavian, and Germanic culture; creating the Megalithic, Beaker, Old Copper, Moundbuilder, Hokan, and Moroccan civilizations; inventing a language which the modern Talossan language happens to resemble in numerous ways; inventing wargaming; and a host of other such things. Support for these suppositions includes serious historical treatises and analysis, as well as whatever tongue-in-cheek assumptions happen to serve at the moment. In assessing the ultimate veracity of the book, a reader would be well-advised to take into account a slogan found in the first chapter, in which Robert I quotes himself when he says, "As a great Talossan once said, 'It is highly possible, and therefore true.'"