This updated edition features twenty-nine new entries alongside revisions of existing ones, offering a critical introduction to significant issues, historians, and philosophers who have influenced contemporary historical thought. It explores the evolving theories and ideas that have prompted a reevaluation of history, making it an essential resource for understanding modern historiography.
History means many things to many people. But finding an answer to the question 'What is history?' is a task few feel equipped to answer. If you want to explore this tantalising subject, where do you start? What are the critical skills you need to begin to make sense of the past?The perfect introduction to this thought-provoking area, Jenkins' clear and concise prose guides readers through the controversies and debates that surround historical thinking at the present time, providing them with the means to make their own discoveries.
Exploring the complexities of history in a postmodern context, Munslow delves into contemporary debates surrounding postmodernist history. He offers insights into the evolving relationship between the past, history, and historical practice, while also surveying recent research in the field. This examination serves as a critical introduction to understanding how history is interpreted and constructed in today's society.
The book delves into the aesthetics of historying by exploring various nuanced concepts such as fabricated, factitious, and fictive elements. It examines how these terms interact and shape our understanding of historical narratives, emphasizing the complex interplay between reality and representation. Through this analysis, readers gain insight into how history is constructed and perceived, highlighting the significance of both factual and fictional elements in historical discourse.
Narrative and History explains the key concepts and practices in the composition and writing of history. It explores how knowledge of the ways in which historians author history affects many conventional understandings of its nature. Major concepts such as truth, objectivity, reference and representation are re-evaluated and re-thought in radical ways. Combining theory with practice, Alun Munslow expands the boundaries of the discipline and charts a new role for unconventional historical forms and modes of expression.