Architectural Records Conference Report Architectural Records Conference Report Held May 3 through 5, 2000. And a common prejudice about twentieth-century architecture was that it abjured the study of history so fervently that it lost its soul. Those of us who study the history of architecture and therefore also work to preserve its records need to liberate ourselves from these prejudices. The study of the past is one of the defining characteristics of modern culture. History did not imprison the nineteenth century, nor did the twentieth century elude it.
Modern culture is profoundly historicist in an important, positive sense.
Our ability to make our own history separates us from trees and mollusks. It proves us capable of waging revolutions against the established order of things, be that order defined by man or nature. We can and should no more detach ourselves from the record of our past than we should abandon our humanity. Indeed, we need to study history just to be modern humans, and the study of architectural history is rich with examples that illustrate this enormous cultural importance.