Key Issues in Historical Theory PDF
Preview Key Issues in Historical Theory
Key Issues in Historical Theory Key Issues in Historical Theory is a fresh, clear and well-grounded intro- duction to this vibrant field of inquiry, incorporating many examples from novels, paintings, music and political debates. The book expertly engages the reader in discussions of what history is, how people relate to the past and how they are formed by the past. Over 11 thematically based chapters, Herman Paul discusses subjects such as: – history, memory and trauma – historical experience and narrative – moral and political dimensions of history – historical reasoning and explanation – truth, plausibility and objectivity. Key Issues in Historical Theory convincingly shows that historical theory is not limited to reflection on professional historical studies, but offers valu- able tools for understanding autobiographical writing, cultural heritage and political controversies about the past. With text boxes providing additional focus on a range of key topics, this is an attractive, accessible and up-to-date guide to the field of historical theory. Herman Paul is Associate Professor of Historical Theory and Historiogra- phy at Leiden University, where he directs a research project on ‘The Schol- arly Self: Character, Habit, and Virtue in the Humanities, 1860–1930’. His publications include Hayden White: The Historical Imagination (Polity Press, 2011). This page intentionally left blank Key Issues in Historical Theory Herman Paul First published 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Herman Paul The right of Herman Paul to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Paul, Herman, author. [Als het verleden trekt. English] Key issues in historical theory / Herman Paul. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. History—Philosophy. 2. Historiography. I. Runia, Anthony, 1959 translator. II. Title. D16.8.P339513 2015 901—dc23 2014036837 ISBN: 978-1-138-80272-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-80273-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-72060-9 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of text boxes ix Preface xi Acknowledgements xv 1 What is historical theory? 1 1.1 Joseph Knecht 1 1.2 Philosophies of history 3 1.3 An entangled history 6 1.4 ‘Speculative’ versus ‘critical’ 9 1.5 Renaming the field 12 2 What is the past? 17 2.1 A medieval church 17 2.2 The chronological past 19 2.3 The completed past 21 2.4 The strange past 23 2.5 The present past 25 2.6 The construction of the past 27 3 Relations with the past 30 3.1 At the jumble sale 30 3.2 Relations and their aims 31 3.3 A heuristic model 36 3.4 Alternative typologies 38 4 The material relation: rooted in the past 43 4.1 Sic transit gloria mundi 43 4.2 The historical subject 44 4.3 The Cartesian anxiety 46 vi Contents 4.4 Traditions and prejudices 49 4.5 Subject-positions 52 5 The aesthetic relation: historical narratives 56 5.1 Narrative closure 56 5.2 Narrative templates 57 5.3 Mediated experiences 60 5.4 Story and reality 63 5.5 The modernist alternative 66 6 The political relation: making history 70 6.1 History wars 70 6.2 History in the first person plural 71 6.3 Political implications 75 6.4 Political commitment 78 7 The epistemic relation (i): historical hypotheses 83 7.1 Nineteenth-century nationalism 83 7.2 Questions and answers 84 7.3 Inferences 87 7.4 The world behind the text 89 7.5 Interpretative proposals 92 8 The epistemic relation (ii): historical explanations 95 8.1 The Iranian Revolution 95 8.2 The covering law model 97 8.3 The intentional model 100 8.4 The comparative model 104 8.5 Explanations in practice 106 9 The epistemic relation (iii): truth and plausibility 111 9.1 Archaeology in Ayodhya 111 9.2 Truth and truth finding 113 9.3 Relative plausibility 117 9.4 Historical representations 119 10 The moral relation: lessons from the past 123 10.1 In the Metropolitan 123 10.2 Historia magistra vitae 124 10.3 The art of historical conversation 129 10.4 Back in the Metropolitan 133 Contents vii 11 Relations management: the ethics of historical scholarship 139 11.1 A primus inter pares? 139 11.2 Newton as identification figure 140 11.3 The ethics of historical scholarship 142 11.4 Objectivity 147 11.5 Epistemic virtues 151 Index 157 This page intentionally left blank List of text boxes Historical process 4 Historical methodology 5 Metahistory 11 Historical sensation 18 Historical distance 21 Historicism 22 Memory 33 Hermeneutics 49 Tradition 51 View of human nature 53 Facts 60 Master narrative 62 Narrativism 63 Digital history 68 Public apology 72 Historical canon 74 Value freedom 80 Intentionalism 91 Verstehen-erklären 102 Probabilistic model 103 Counterfactuals 105 Aletheia 116 Paradigm 148
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