Experimental micro history

Each episode of Nobilitas opens a view deep into the Roman culture and to the mentality of the members of the nobilitas. In this sense Nobilitas series is micro history or experimental archaeology with micro historical approach.

What is experimental micro history?

The term experimental micro history comes from combining micro history approach with methodologies of experimental arcaheology and living history. It doesn't have one definition, but there are certain elements that are essential. First of all experimenting, experiment and experimental are aspects of reconstruction. Experimental in this context means that the research and its presentation are in several ways experiments. They are experiments in the sense of reconstruction of the past objects, language, customs, in one word: culture. They are also experiments in the way past culture, in this case ancient Roman culture, is represented. Usually the medium for academic historical representation is writing. In Nobilitas project the written part is the manuscript of the project as well as related research work for creating the manuscript. But this text is used only as a tool for building historical representation into another medium, the film.

Images, moving images, reconstructional drawings, photographs and many other visual expressions have been used in acadmic and popular historical representations, in fact a typography of a book is one form of visual expression. In this sense using film as historical medium is not very far fetched or exceptional. Historical documents have utilized dramatizations and other forms of reconstruction. However those dramatizations, even while sometimes very ambitious and of high quality, are used mainly as entertaining elements, or as eduntainment, or simply as eye-candy as the popular saying goes. They are used like decorative images in the publications, they are nice and of high quality but hardly essential. In Nobilitas project a different approach is taken: the results of the reasearch are published in the medium of film. This makes the audio visual product more than just a decoration, it becomes as the main means of publishing the results of the scientific research.

There has been good criticism towards experimental methodologies. They are not usable for all kinds of historical research, but they bring a welcome addition to the toolbox of historians. Their main strength is in their ability to raise questions, which is always the basis of historical, or in fact any scientific research. When doing a reconstruction of an object or of an event, an entirely new set of problems is faced compared to strictly textual historical research. For example, what kind of materials were used, how were they produced, what kind of economical chain was required to produce and distribute them, why this or that was chosen, why it became in this form... and many other practical questions which have very wide implications and which eventually generate more questions and answers. Experimental archaeology is perhaps the most appreciated of experimental methodologies. Experimental history or living history are not as widely accepted in the academic circles, even while they too have produced relevant historical information, especially in the sphere of history of everyday life.

Micro history too is a term that has a variety of meanings, but perhaps a suitable general definition for it could be that micro historical research takes seemingly small detail and uses them as a starting point for deep cultural research of certain past culture. The micro then does not refer necessarily to the scope of the whole research, but to the starting point of the research. And in cultural historical sense micro historical methodologies quite often produce both wide and deep research reaching into macro level of culture. In the Nobilitas project micro history is an approach of concentrating into a short period of history, some minutes, and into limited population, one or only few person.

In short experimental micro history in the Nobilitas project means that by combining scientific methodologies of micro history and experimental reconstruction with the medium of representation, film, cinematographical essays are produced. Thus audiovisual work is the publishing medium of the results of the research.

This approach and medium have their strengths and weaknesses, like any other medium and approach. For example in the printed media there cannot be moving image and live observation situation. Also the photographs are not a neutral medium, for example studio photography of archaeological evidence material is not at all without problems, as M. Shanks and others have discussed.

Motion poster as experimental micro history

The motion poster of Nobilitas is a small example of what benefits experimental micro history can give. The main character commits a suicide in his home in front of some members of his household and the wax masks of his illustrious ancestors. The poster discusses of different themes: the importance of family and ancestors, individual life compared to the family and lineage, life and death in Roman culture, importance of honour, family and home as part of Roman life, relationships inside a Roman household. All these and many other themes can be found from this extremely short cinematographic essay. In this case the starting point has been more loosely defined than in the episodes of Nobilitas project: we have here a nameless and generic person from Roman nobilitas. In the episodes of Nobilitas personage and events are as strictly historical as possible, only interpretative freedom taken is for things for which we do not have sources. And even in sourceless parts strict intellectual rules have been followed. With experimental methods we have been able to reconstruct a small piece of Roman culture from many perspectives, in the motion poster. This is something that writing cannot do in the same way and with same persuasive and pedagogic force. The power of cinematographic medium is used here to bring both knowledge as well as experiences for the audience.

Responsible history culture

History culture is a term used to describe popular representations of the past. It is in a sense the culture of presenting the past. Each and every cultural product that reflects the past is part of history culture.

Past in the form of historical presentation and representation is very important part of Western culture of our times. It is not irrelevant what kind of presentations of the past are produced and consumed and how they are produced. It is usual that products of history culture are commercial entertainment products, for example historical novels, films or TV-series. They are produced under the financial, artistic and production premises of entertainment industry.

The Nobilitas project takes an different approach. While e.g. BBC's Rome Series was popular culture with historical connections the Nobilitas project is historical research published in the popular medium. It doesn't mean that production would be free of the genre and other restrictions that the medium poses. It simply means that the production of Nobilitas will aim into high quality on three areas: artistic, academic and technical. The Nobilitas project is about publishing research results of experimental micro history in the medium of film, and the medium does set certain requirements and limitations. Quality means in the Nobilitas project that historical research is of high quality as well as that it is put into artistically ambitious and high quality form as well as technical high quality.

For historians the Nobilitas project offers unique chance to make responsible history culture. In other words, usually entertainment business makes the decisions about contents, but in Nobilitas project the historians make those decisions and audio and video production professionals and artists take care of artistic and technical quality in production. Living history and experimental archeology experts are also consulted for best possible results.