In Defense of HistoryA master practitioner gives us an entertaining tour of the historian's workshop and a spirited defense of the search for historical truth. E. H. Carr's What Is History?, a classic introduction to the field, may now give way to a worthy successor. In his compact, intriguing survey, Richard J. Evans shows us how historians manage to extract meaning from the recalcitrant past. To materials that are frustratingly meager, or overwhelmingly profuse, they bring an array of tools that range from agreed-upon rules of documentation and powerful computer models to the skilled investigator's sudden insight, all employed with the aim of reconstructing a verifiable, usable past. Evans defends this commitment to historical knowledge from the attacks of postmodernist critics who see all judgments as subjective. Evans brings "a remarkable range, a nose for the archives, a taste for controversy, and a fluent pen" (The New Republic) to this splendid work. "Essential reading for coming generations."-Keith Thomas |
From inside the book
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Page 3
... history in recent years."7 The intellectual historian David Harlan, writing in 1989, thought that historical studies were indeed undergoing "an extended epistemological crisis."8 In the mid-19905, American historians Joyce Appleby, Lynn ...
... history in recent years."7 The intellectual historian David Harlan, writing in 1989, thought that historical studies were indeed undergoing "an extended epistemological crisis."8 In the mid-19905, American historians Joyce Appleby, Lynn ...
Page 4
... intellectual historian Allan Megill indicted the historical profession in 1989 for what he called its "sclerotic self-satisfaction"'7 in the face of the postmodernist challenge, the medievalist Nancy F. Partner, writing in 1995, thought ...
... intellectual historian Allan Megill indicted the historical profession in 1989 for what he called its "sclerotic self-satisfaction"'7 in the face of the postmodernist challenge, the medievalist Nancy F. Partner, writing in 1995, thought ...
Page 5
... history in the 1990s, indeed the possibility of writing 'history' at all in these post-modern times, the editorial of ... intellectual history of their own time, above all the now decades-long challenge to received ways of historical ...
... history in the 1990s, indeed the possibility of writing 'history' at all in these post-modern times, the editorial of ... intellectual history of their own time, above all the now decades-long challenge to received ways of historical ...
Page 6
... intellectual barbarians at the disciplinary gates. If postmodernists gained any more influence, he warned, "history might be on the way to becoming an endangered species."26 On the socialist left, the radical historian Raphael Samuel ...
... intellectual barbarians at the disciplinary gates. If postmodernists gained any more influence, he warned, "history might be on the way to becoming an endangered species."26 On the socialist left, the radical historian Raphael Samuel ...
Page 7
... intellectual barbarians at the disciplinary gates are loitering there with distinctly hostile intent. "Autumn ... history, announced approvingly in a reconsideration of Carr s work published in 1995: "We have reached the end of modernist ...
... intellectual barbarians at the disciplinary gates are loitering there with distinctly hostile intent. "Autumn ... history, announced approvingly in a reconsideration of Carr s work published in 1995: "We have reached the end of modernist ...
Contents
13 | |
History Science and Morality | 39 |
Historians and Their Facts | 65 |
Sources and Discourses | 89 |
Causation in History | 111 |
Society and the Individual | 139 |
Knowledge and Power | 165 |
Objectivity and Its Limits | 193 |
Notes | 221 |
Further Reading | 253 |
Index | 273 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abraham American historian American Historical Review Ankersmit Annales school Appleby approach argued argument Arthur Marwick belief Britain British Cambridge Carr's causes claim concept contemporary course critics critique cultural debate declared Deconstructing discipline discourse documents Dominick LaCapra E. H. Carr England English European evidence example Frank Ankersmit French Geoffrey Elton Hayden White historians historical fact historical knowledge historical profession historical research historical scholarship Historiography History and Post-Modernism History London Holocaust denial human Ibid ideas ideology Intellectual History interpretation Journal Joyce Keith Jenkins kind LaCapra language Lawrence Stone linguistic turn literary Marxist material meaning methods modern moral Moreover Munslow Namier narrative Novick objective Oxford past perspective postmodernism postmodernist practice present Purkiss R. G. Collingwood Revolution rians scientific sense Sir Geoffrey Elton Social History social sciences society sources theory things thought tion torians torical tory traditional truth written