What is Historiography? | Historian Essentials | Casual Historian

Summary

In this episode of 'Historian Essentials,' Grant Hurst introduces historiography, which is the study of how history has been written and interpreted over time. He explains the concept, highlighting how various 'schools of historiography' shape the way historical events, like the American Revolution, are analyzed through different lenses—such as Whig, Marxist, and Imperialist perspectives. Hurst emphasizes the importance of understanding and engaging with differing viewpoints to build a well-rounded understanding of historical narratives. He also encourages viewers to explore opposing ideas to strengthen their own historical perspectives.

Takeaways

• 📜 Historiography is the study of how we have studied and written about history.
• 🧐 It is derived from 'history' and the Greek suffix '-graphia,' meaning 'field of study.'
• 📖 Every historical work is part of historiography, but historians categorize them by subject matter.
• ⚖️ Schools of historiography often reflect political biases or cross-disciplinary approaches, such as economics or women's studies.
• 🇺🇸 The American Revolution has different historiographical schools, such as the Whig school, Marxist school, and Imperialist school.
• 📚 Studying historiography helps understand how various historians have interpreted historical events.
• 💡 It’s important to explore not only the historiographies you agree with but also those you disagree with to broaden your perspective.
• 🔍 Different schools of thought raise unique questions that contribute to a deeper understanding of history.
• 🛡️ Familiarity with opposing historiographical schools helps in defending your own ideas effectively.
• 🙋 Historiography gives intellectual context, helping readers understand the issues addressed and criticisms in historical works.

Q & A

What is the definition of historiography?

Historiography is the study of how we have looked at the past or the history of history. It focuses on how historians have written about and interpreted historical events.

How is the term 'historiography' constructed linguistically?

The word 'historiography' is a compound of the English word 'history' and the Greek suffix 'graphia,' meaning field of study, making it the study of history.

Why is it important to study historiography when writing or studying history?

Studying historiography provides intellectual context, helping historians understand how past historians interpreted a subject. It also allows historians to address previous criticisms and defend their ideas.

What are 'schools of historiography'?

Schools of historiography are groups of historical works that share common elements, such as political biases or cross-disciplinary lenses, like economics or women’s studies.

What is an example of different historiographical schools related to the American Revolution?

For the American Revolution, the 'Whig school' portrays colonists as freedom-loving patriots, while the 'Marxist school' focuses on economic issues, and the 'imperialist school' views the colonists as ungrateful for British protection.

Do all historical subjects have the same schools of historiography?

No, different historical subjects may have unique historiographical schools, especially as the subject becomes more niche. However, more general topics tend to have more common schools.

Why should historians familiarize themselves with historiographies they disagree with?

Historians should familiarize themselves with opposing historiographies to challenge their own ideas, defend their viewpoints, and consider alternative questions that their preferred schools may not address.

What does historiography reveal about historical works?

Historiography reveals the perspectives, biases, and intellectual contexts within which historical works were created, highlighting how interpretations of events have changed over time.

What role do political biases play in historiography?

Political biases often unite works within a specific school of historiography, as different historians may interpret events based on their political or ideological perspectives.

What can historians gain from studying cross-disciplinary lenses in historiography?

Cross-disciplinary lenses, like economics or women’s studies, offer historians new ways of interpreting historical events, helping them see connections between history and other fields.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Introduction to Historian Essentials and Historiography

Grant Hurst introduces himself and his show, *Historian Essentials*. He explains that the episode will focus on historiography. The term is broken down: 'history' and the Greek 'graphia', meaning the study of history. Historiography is described as the study of how history has been written and interpreted over time, helping historians understand different perspectives and frameworks used in analyzing the past.

📚 Defining Historiography

Historiography is explained as the study of how we have looked at the past or 'the history of history.' Every historical work is part of historiography, but historians usually categorize these works by subject matter. For example, all books about the American Revolution would fall under the historiography of the American Revolution. The focus is on understanding how past events have been interpreted and how these interpretations change over time.

🏛 Schools of Historiography

Historiographical schools, which group historical works together based on shared perspectives, are introduced. These schools are often influenced by political biases or interdisciplinary lenses, such as women's studies or economics. The American Revolution is used as an example, with three contrasting historiographical schools mentioned: the Whig school, which views the colonists as freedom fighters; the Marxist school, which highlights class struggles; and the Imperialist school, which sees the colonists as unfairly evading taxes for the defense of the empire.

🔍 Variability in Historiography

Not all historical subjects have the same schools of historiography. The more specific or niche the topic, the more unique the forms of historiography become. However, common schools of thought dominate broader topics. Historiography helps provide intellectual context for what you're reading, clarifying which issues or criticisms are being addressed. This understanding is essential for comprehending the broader discourse within the historical field.

⚖ The Importance of Diverse Historiographical Perspectives

Grant emphasizes the importance of studying historiography from different perspectives, not just those you agree with. Exposure to different schools of thought ensures a broader understanding of the subject and equips historians with the ability to defend their views. Engaging with opposing perspectives enriches the analysis and fosters intellectual rigor.

💬 Closing Remarks and Community Engagement

Grant concludes by inviting viewers to share other terms and concepts they think history majors should know in the comments. He thanks his Patreon supporters for making the video possible and encourages viewers to support the channel for perks like early access and sneak peeks of future videos. The episode ends with a reminder to like, share, and subscribe.

Keywords

💡Historiography

Historiography refers to the study of how history is written and interpreted. In the video, it is explained as the 'history of history,' meaning it examines how past events have been recorded and understood by different historians over time. The purpose is to analyze the methods, sources, and biases involved in historical writing, providing insight into how perspectives on a topic evolve.

💡Schools of historiography

Schools of historiography are groups of historians whose works share common perspectives or methodologies. These may be shaped by political, cultural, or interdisciplinary lenses. In the video, examples include the 'Whig' school, which sees the American colonists as freedom-loving patriots, and the 'Marxist' school, which focuses on economic factors behind historical events. The concept emphasizes the diverse ways history can be interpreted.

💡Whig school of history

The Whig school of history portrays historical events, like the American Revolution, in terms of progress toward liberty and democracy. In the video, the Whig interpretation is mentioned as viewing American colonists as patriots fighting British tyranny. This school often frames history as a narrative of human progress, highlighting the triumph of freedom and rights.

💡Marxist historiography

Marxist historiography interprets historical events through the lens of class struggle and economic factors. The video mentions how a Marxist perspective might view the American Revolution as an attempt by colonial elites to distract from internal economic issues. This school of thought is rooted in the ideas of Karl Marx and often focuses on power, class, and material conditions as driving forces in history.

💡Imperialist school of history

The imperialist school views historical events from the perspective of empire, often emphasizing the responsibilities and benefits of imperial power. In the video, the imperialist view of the American Revolution sees the colonists as 'ungrateful' for refusing to contribute to the defense of the British Empire. This school highlights the costs of empire and the obligations of colonies.

💡Bias in historical writing

Bias in historical writing refers to the influence of a historian's political, cultural, or personal perspective on their interpretation of events. The video touches on this concept when discussing how different schools of historiography can be shaped by political biases. It stresses the importance of recognizing these biases to better understand the diversity of historical interpretations.

💡Cross-disciplinary lenses

Cross-disciplinary lenses refer to the incorporation of perspectives from other fields, such as economics, gender studies, or sociology, into historical analysis. The video mentions this approach when discussing how different fields can influence historiographical schools, like how women's studies might shape interpretations of historical events by focusing on gender dynamics.

💡American Revolution

The American Revolution is used in the video as a key example to illustrate different historiographical interpretations. Depending on the historian's perspective, it can be seen as a struggle for liberty (Whig), a distraction from economic problems (Marxist), or an ungrateful rebellion against the British Empire (Imperialist). This example highlights how the same event can be viewed through various lenses.

💡Historical interpretation

Historical interpretation involves the ways in which historians analyze and explain past events. The video emphasizes that each historian brings a unique perspective to their work, influenced by their school of thought or bias. Understanding historiography is crucial for recognizing the diversity of interpretations and questioning the 'truth' of historical narratives.

💡Intellectual context

Intellectual context refers to the background of ideas, theories, and debates that shape how a historical work is written. The video explains that understanding the historiography of a subject is key to grasping its intellectual context, helping readers see the broader scholarly conversation that an author is engaging with. This allows for a deeper understanding of the work's position within its field.

Highlights

Introduction of the episode and the concept of historiography.

Definition of historiography as the study of how we have looked at the past or the history of history.

Clarification that every work of history is part of historiography, but historians divide them based on subject matter.

Example of historiography by subject: all books on the American Revolution are part of its historiography.

Historiography explores how people have written about and interpreted a particular subject.

Explanation of historiographical schools, which are groups of works united by common elements like political biases or interdisciplinary lenses.

Example of the Whig school of history portraying American colonists as freedom-loving patriots fighting British tyranny.

Example of the Marxist school portraying the American Revolution as colonial elites using British scapegoating to distract from economic issues.

Example of the Imperialist school viewing American colonists as ungrateful for not wanting to contribute to the empire's defense.

Explanation that niche subjects may have unique forms of historiography, while broader subjects share common historiographical schools.

Importance of reading historiography when studying or writing about history, as it provides intellectual context.

Historiography helps readers understand the issues and criticisms an author is addressing in their work.

Necessity of familiarizing oneself with both historiography one agrees with and disagrees with for a broader understanding.

Studying other historiographical schools helps raise questions that one's own school may overlook.

Final message encouraging viewers to suggest other historical concepts and ideas, and promoting the creator’s Patreon.

Transcripts

hey guys my name is grant hurst and you

are watching historian essentials the

show where i explain concepts and ideas

that all history majors should be

familiar with and in this episode we are

going to be looking at historiography

so what exactly is historiography well

as we can see from the word itself it is

a compound of the english word history

which we covered in this video and the

suffixography coming from the greek word

graphia meaning field of study so

historiography can be defined as the

study of history if we expand this

definition to include the definition of

history it can read the study of

knowledge from inquiry so basically

historiography is the study of how we

have looked at the past or the history

of history every work of history is

considered to be part of the

historiography however historians don't

usually lump all histories together so

when talking about historiography we

usually divide them up by subject matter

for example all of the books at your

local bookstore about the american

revolution are all part of the

historiography of the american

revolution the purpose of historiography

is to look at how other people have

written about and therefore interpreted

a particular subject different groups

have been grouped together into what is

referred to as schools of historiography

and these works usually have some

element that unites them together

sometimes these elements are political

biases and other times they are

cross-disciplinary lenses such as

women's studies or economics let's take

the american revolution for example if

what you're writing or the book you're

reading portrays the american colonists

as freedom-loving patriots fighting

against british tyranny then your work

or that book are probably fall somewhere

within what is referred to as the wig

school of history however if you portray

the american revolution as colonial

elites scapegoating the mother country

in order to distract people from

domestic economic problems then you are

probably a marxist or reading a marxist

work and if you're someone who thinks of

the american colonists as ungrateful

sods you don't want to pay for their

fair share for the defense of the empire

then you're probably from the

imperialist school now not all subjects

of history have the exact same schools

of historiography in fact the more niche

you get the more unique forms of

historiography you find but the more

general you get then the more common

historiographical schools you're going

to see when writing or studying history

it's important to read the

historiography of the subject you were

looking at just like when history is

being applied to other disciplines

historiography gives you the

intellectual context of what you're

reading what issues is this author

addressing in their book and what

criticisms are they addressing you

shouldn't just familiarize yourself with

the historiography you agree with but

also with those you disagree with it's

important because other schools of

thought bring up questions that your

particular school of thought might not

bring up and if for no other reason then

you need to make sure that you are able

to defend your own ideas in order to do

that you need to look at the other

historiographical schools that

contradict yours so what other terms

concepts or ideas that you think every

history major should be familiar with

let me know down in the comments below i

would like to thank my patrons for

making this video possible thanks to

your support i can continue to make

videos for people to learn from and be

entertained if you're interested in

becoming a supporter of this channel

then you can go to

patreon.comcasualhistorian

where you can get perks such as getting

to see videos early getting your name in

the end credits of videos as well as

getting to a sneak peek of what videos i

have coming down in the pipeline don't

forget to like share and subscribe

thanks for watching and i'll see you

next time