The historian's craft
This ancient Greek historian, exiled for 20 years, aimed to write a 'possession for all time' about the Peloponnesian War.
Who is Thucydides?
This term describes the philosophical study of how historical narratives are constructed and the influences on historians.
What is historiography?
The process of critically analysing a source to determine its context, purpose, origin, and audience.
What is reliability?
This school of historical thought is heavily influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx and focuses on class conflict and economic factors as drivers of historical change.
What is Marxism?
This is the purpose of history that suggests studying the past helps us understand the mistakes of previous generations, so we can avoid repeating them in the future. Winston Churchill's famous quote, "Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it," exemplifies this idea.
What is to educate?
The author of The Historian's Craft, who was shot by the Gestapo in 1944, is known for pioneering the comparative method in history.
Who is Marc Bloch?
The idea that all historical knowledge is subjective and relative to the observer is known by this term.
What is relativism?
This term refers to any written or non-written materials that can be used by a historian to investigate the past.
What is a source?
This school of thought, originating in France, sought to move beyond political and diplomatic history to include social, economic, and cultural factors.
What is the Annales School?
According to this perspective, history should be used to foster a sense of shared identity and national pride. An example of this is the focus on the Anzac tradition in Australia.
What is nationalism (or commemorative history)?
This historian argued that the purpose of history is to "show what actually happened" (wie es eigentlich gewesen).
Who is Leopold von Ranke?
This is the term for the belief that historical knowledge is based solely on empirical evidence and can be objective and scientific.
What is empiricism?
According to G.R. Elton, a historian should "never consciously distort their evidence, even by literary artistry" and should be on guard against this.
What are personal biases (or religious, racial, class, or national prejudices)?
This form of history focuses on the lives and experiences of ordinary people rather than just the actions of elites and political leaders.
What is 'history from below' (or social history)?
In an age of 'alternative facts' and 'fake news', the study of history serves this purpose by teaching us how to critically evaluate sources and evidence.
What is to seek the truth?
This historian, a prominent figure in the Annales School, emphasised the importance of the longue durée or "long term perspective" in history.
Who is Fernand Braudel?
E.H. Carr argues that this is an "unending dialogue between the past and the present."
What is history?
This Australian historian argues that archival documents have a "reality and objectivity of their own."
Who is Keith Windschuttle?
Originating in Germany in the 19th century, this school of thought advocated for history as a scientific discipline focused on empirical evidence and objectivity.
What is historicism?
This purpose suggests that history should be used to challenge dominant narratives and give a voice to those who have been marginalised or forgotten in traditional accounts.
What is to deconstruct? (or post-colonial, feminist, Marxist, queer etc.)
This American historian, a prominent figure in the linguistic turn, argued that historical facts are not simply "out there" waiting to be discovered, but are constructed through language.
Who is Hayden White?
This concept, central to the work of R.G. Collingwood, suggests that historians re-enact or reconstruct the thoughts of historical agents.
What is historical imagination?
This is the term for the process of using sources to infer or support a historical argument, as opposed to simply stating a fact.
What is evidence?
This school of thought challenges traditional historical narratives by foregrounding the roles and experiences of women and analysing how gender has shaped historical events.
What is feminist history?
This purpose is rooted in the belief that history is a form of inquiry and that historians, like scientists, should pursue knowledge for because that is their role.
What is to seek knowledge for its own sake (or to provide intellectual satisfaction)?