Official military documents can recover illiterate soldiers’ subjective perspectives

Evidence

This obviously leads to the question of whether it is feasible to write a history of an institution of power in a manner that not only avoids reproducing its own narrative but which can also incorporate the dialog that it constantly has with resistance. Given that the overwhelming majority of the people with whom this book is concerned were illiterate and did not leave behind written accounts which could inform us of what it was like to be objectified in this insistent manner, the question is whether it is still possible to include them as subjects and not merely as objects of power. Fortunately, the documents that this book relies upon made possible the incorporation of the soldiers’ perspective in narrating the history of Mehmed Ali’s army. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 26

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Military history can be written from the vantage of the common soldier. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 410; Military histories written from commander viewpoint erase soldiers’ humanity; Official battle narratives conceal the fear and desertion soldiers actually experienced — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 906 (+4 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Military history can be written from the vantage of the common soldier. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 410; Military histories written from commander viewpoint erase soldiers’ humanity; Official battle narratives conceal the fear and desertion soldiers actually experienced — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 906 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Official battle narratives conceal the fear and desertion soldiers actually experienced #complicates (0.82) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 906
• Archival content analysis may measure rhetorical style rather than actual cognition #complicates (0.80) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2286