A colleague of mine, a scholar of English literature who excavated with me for a decade, started applying the phrase “an object out of context has no meaning” to words, texts, and historical moments. For a long time I agreed, but in recent years I have changed my mind, and now prefer a modified form of the dictum: “an object out of context has a different meaning.” This modification may be subtle, but it is actually quite substantial.For more on the series, see here.
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