Historiography: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Third EditionIn this pioneering work, Ernst Breisach presents an effective, well-organized, and concise account of the development of historiography in Western culture. Neither a handbook nor an encyclopedia, this up-to-date third edition narrates and interprets the development of historiography from its origins in Greek poetry to the present, with compelling sections on postmodernism, deconstructionism, African-American history, women’s history, microhistory, the Historikerstreit, cultural history, and more. The definitive look at the writing of history by a historian, Historiography provides key insights into some of the most important issues, debates and innovations in modern historiography. Praise for the first edition: “Breisach’s comprehensive coverage of the subject and his clear presentation of the issues and the complexity of an evolving discipline easily make his work the best of its kind.”—Lester D. Stephens, American Historical Review |
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
12 | |
3 Reaching the Limits of Greek Historiography | 27 |
4 Early Roman Historiography Myths Greeks and the Republic | 40 |
5 Historians and the Republics Crisis | 52 |
6 Perceptions of the Past in Augustan and Imperial Rome | 60 |
7 The Christian Historiographical Revolution | 77 |
19 The Discovery of Economic Dynamics | 291 |
20 Historians Encounter the Masses | 303 |
21 The Problem of World History | 319 |
22 Historiography Between Two World Wars 191839 | 323 |
23 History Writing in Liberal Democracies 191839 | 334 |
24 Historiography and the Grand Ideologies | 347 |
25 American Historiography after 1945 | 356 |
26 History in the Scientific Mode | 369 |
8 The Historiographical Mastery of New Peoples States and Dynasties | 107 |
9 Historians and the Ideal of the Christian Commonwealth | 121 |
10 Historiographys Adjustment to Accelerating Change | 138 |
11 Two Turning Points The Renaissance and The Reformation | 153 |
12 The Continuing Modification of Traditional Historiography | 171 |
13 The EighteenthCentury Quest for a new Historiography | 199 |
14 Three National Responses | 215 |
15 Historians as Interpreters of Progress and NationI | 228 |
16 Historians as Interpreters of Progress and NationII | 248 |
17 A First Prefatory Note to Modern Historiography 18601914 | 268 |
18 History and the Quest for a Uniform Science | 272 |
27 Transformations in English and French Historiography | 387 |
28 Marxist Historiography in the Soviet Unionand Western Democracies | 395 |
29 Historiography in the Aftermath of Fascism | 401 |
30 World History Between Vision and Reality | 408 |
Fundamental Challenges and Their Aftermath | 417 |
Notes | 431 |
List of Abbreviations | 443 |
Bibliography | 445 |
481 | |
497 | |
Common terms and phrases
accepted actions American ancient Annales approach attempts became become began called cause century Christian chronicle church civilization collective concept concern constitutional contemporary continuity course critical cultural early economic Empire England English example experience explain fact faith forces France French future German Greek historians historiography hope human humanist ideal ideas important individual influence institutions interest interpretation Italy kings later less lives manner Marxist matter means medieval methods narrative nature never once origin particularly past period Persian philosophes political present problem produced progress proper rational reality records remained result role Roman Rome scheme scholars sense shaped showed simply social society sources spirit story structure struggle studies theory thought tion tradition true truth turn universal Western whole wished writing wrote