Historical Accuracy

One of three panelists at Fairfield Museum's "Museum After Dark" program on the topic of Spies of the Revolution in Connecticut, with Jackson Kuhl (Author, "Samuel Smedley, Connecticut Privateer") and Rob Foley (Town historian, Bridgeport, CT).  Talk focused on the Culper Spy Ring, which operated in part out of Fairfield, with a focus on Caleb Brewster, who settled in Fairfield after the war. Heavy emphasis on known historical facts vs. dramatized and fictionalized portrayal of Culper Spy Ring (especially Brewster) in AMC's TV series "TURN: Washington's Spies," with plenty of interactive conversation surrounding the nature of writing historical fiction vs. nonfiction.

Location: Fairfield Museum, Fairfield, CT
Image: Promotional postcard for "Museum After Dark" event

Most commentators would say Acts of the Apostles portrays Paul very favourably. After all, nearly everything we know about Paul comes from Acts. The stories of Paul, at least after his conversion, are invariably positive and never criticise him directly.  If the author of Acts did portray Paul unfairly, he was too subtle to be seen as doing so.

This dissertation investigates how players interpret protagonists in character-focused video games, highlighting the prevalence of white, straight, and male characters, limiting diversity representation. Non-demographic-fitting players are often expected to adopt these characters for engagement. Recognising the impact of unequal representation is crucial, prompting an internet-based mixed-method survey distributed on Reddit to explore player responses.

Results indicate a widespread desire for improved representation, with participants asserting that diversifying characters would not harm existing representation but would support underrepresented individuals. Identified barriers to change include ingrained social norms, values, and developer comfort with assumed target audiences.

Concerns about tokenization and stereotypes exist among participants advocating for diversity. The study recommends: 1) Future research should focus on marginalised identities to address biases in participant responses. 2) A theoretical approach recognising varied player perspectives, as marginalised players may not prioritise representation, while dominant groups may dislike changes to their representation. 3) Academic settings, particularly in game development courses, should integrate sessions addressing contemporary representation issues and how harmful ideologies manifest through player-created protagonists.

RESUMEN. La relación que mantiene la filosofía presente con la filosofía del pasado es un tema fundamental para entender la división actual entre la filosofía analítica y la filosofía continental. Sin embargo, la oposición no se sitúa en el mero rechazo o la aceptación de la historia de la filosofía. De hecho, las dos tradiciones filosóficas contemplan la posibilidad de un dialogo con los grandes filósofos del pasado. Este estudio caracteriza la relación con el pasado propia de cada tradición y termina argumentando a favor de la relevancia de la historia de la filosofía en filosofía.

ABSTRACT. The relationship between present-day philosophy and philosophy of the past is a fundamental issue for understanding today’s philosophical division between “analytical” and “continental” philosophy. However, the opposition doesn’t lie in the mere rejection or acceptation of philosophy’s history. In fact, both philosophical traditions conceive the possibility of a dialog with the great philosophers of the past. This paper first characterizes the relationships with past philosophy in both traditions and arguments in favor of the relevancy of philosophy’s history for philosophy.