Between agency and event the book of Job as a Greek tragedy

In this study, I explore a pragmatist and processualist perspective on the interpretation of historical sources. By analyzing Horace M. Kallen's 1918 book, 'The Book of Job as a Greek Tragedy', regarded as an instance of pragmatist historical inquiry, this paper engages with recent processual and evental approaches to history. It elucidates a conceptualization of historical sources as 'actor-events'. Through Kallen's example, the paper demonstrates how cultural historians can effectively perceive sources as both actors that evoke meaning and as events that unfold. From this perspective, Kallen's work illustrates how diverse temporalities hold simultaneous significance and how cultural and social struggles related to what is emerging, in the future, give rise to the emergence of truth in historical sources.

Automated summary

This study explores a pragmatic and processualist perspective on the interpretation of historical sources. It analyzes Horace M. Kallen's book 'The Book of Job as a Greek Tragedy' as an instance of pragmatist historical inquiry and engages with recent processual and evental approaches to history. The study conceptualizes historical sources as 'actor-events' and demonstrates how cultural historians can perceive them as actors that evoke meaning and as events that unfold. It also highlights the simultaneous significance of diverse temporalities and the emergence of truth in historical sources related to future cultural and social struggles.