Beyond the epistemic virtues. The public historian in a non-linear world

This article offers a reflection on the forms of historians public performance in the contemporary world, considering the importance of being attentive to the demands and expectations the different audiences have regarding this performance. From the analysis of two specific situations involving the historian Leandro Karnal, the article argues that all reflection on the relation between historian and his/her audience is crossed by an ethical dimension that transcends the purely epistemological principles of the discipline and, by publicly situating the historian’s intellectual performance, it also takes on a political dimension.