In her work, The Evidence of Experience, Joan Scott reviews the essence of experience, its concepts, and solutions to the issue of the term’s usage. As has been mentioned by the author, in the beginning, history has been chiefly a discussion of foundations (Scott, 1991). This refers to the fact that its answers appear to be impossible if certain fundamental hypotheses, classifications, or preconceptions are not established.
Experience may shift the emphasis and concept of human history from that which believes there is an unfiltered link between language and stuff and is focused on naturalizing experience. This perspective views all types of study as situational, contentious, and dependent. The author later accentuates that experience is both a concept that must be understood and a concept that is already an explanation (Scott, 1991). What constitutes experience is not self-evident nor obvious. Instead, the writer argues that it is constantly disputed and, as such, politicized.
Still, humans cannot operate without the term experience, despite the fact that it is frequently used to reassert the issue and essentialize authenticity. Yet it appears pointless to fight for the removal of experience since it is so ingrained in daily storylines and everyday language. It is used as a tool to discuss what took place, highlight differences and similarities, and assert unimpeachable information. Considering the term’s widespread usage, it appears more beneficial to engage with it, examine how it functions, and change what it means. In order to do this, the author provides solutions. Scott claims that this process requires placing a strong emphasis on the mechanics of identity building, the rhetorical structure of experience, and these practices of identity creation (Scott, 1991).
Consequently, the research of experience should challenge its primacy in historical interpretation. Lastly, one might historicize the words through which experience is expressed and so historicize the phenomenon itself by tracing the use of language in all ways, across the gap, and by placing and categorizing that terminology.
Reference
Scott, J. W. (1991). The evidence of experience. Critical Inquiry, 17(4), 773-797. Web.