CartThe Triple-Helix Structure of World History Instructor: Mohammad SalemyProgram: Critical Philosophy, History, Design & WorldmakingCredit(s): 1Date: TBATime: TBA
DESCRIPTION: This Seminar reexamines the philosophical underpinnings and the historical contexts that shape our understanding of “history” itself. By critically engaging with diverse schools of thought—from classical historiography to contemporary philosophies of temporality—we will re-conceptualize historical development to consider a new structural model of history as an entwining helix composed of three interdependent yet distinct strands: Nature, encompassing physical environments, climate patterns, geological transformations, and the broader ecological context within which human activity occurs, as well as the broad sweep of natural history, starting with the Big Bang and beyond, and influencing the conditions for both technologies and societies to develop; Technology, encompassing the tools and methods originating within nature but emerging as autonomous forces through which the inanimate world evolves by way of correctional processes of life contingently self-revising and innovating for survival, gradually shaping more complex forms beyond the interactions of both nature and society; Society, encompassing social and cultural norms, institutions, and identities, the history of which chronicles the organization of human communities, driven by the conditions of nature and reaching for technological advancements, and representing the sum of collective human experience—the cultural, political, and economic realms.
The main hypothesis of the Seminar is that these strands are co-responsive, forming the structures that define different historical epochs. Although open-ended and autonomous, they twist and turn around each other in an intricate interplay. At times, one strand may exert a dominant force, pulling the other two in its direction. For example: technological revolutions often reshape societal structures and redefine humanity’s relationship with nature. Conversely, environmental shifts can compel societies to adapt, influencing technological developments. After understanding both the philosophy of history and its materialization into historical writing or historiography, this Seminar will look at the interplay of Nature, Technology and Society to analyze the theoretical and practical relevance of their intertwinement to our current predicament. We will examine whether History can be reconfigured as an open-ended process shaped by the dynamic interactions between these three factors.
Session 1: Introduction: Historiography and philosophy of history, from Herodotus and Abu Rayhan Biruni to von Ranke and Hegel. Determining the scale and scope of participants’ projects.
Session 2: The Cybernetic Concept of History: From the humanism of Walter Benjamin to the inhumanism of Land and Negarestani.
Session 3: A Triple-Helix Philosophy of History.
Session 4: Seminar Review and Participants Presentations.
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IMAGE: R.H. Quaytman, Instaltion View, Glenstone Museum, 2022
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