What is Hisory

There are many definitions of what History is, and what it means for different sections of society at different times. E.H. Carr's primary argument is that the interpretation of history from certain historians is dependent upon their position in society, and indeed are formulated by society's view of the period. One historian writing in the 1950's may have a totally different interpretation of events that, say, a present day historical writer.

IT IS TERRIBLY DIFFICULT to write well about historiography and historical method. In order to do the job effectively, the author needs a panoptic gaze, so that comments say about industrialisation can include Latin America as well as Europe, while historiography to be effective should avoid the same tired old cast and show an awareness of other national traditions. Tone is also a problem. All too frequently, writers on these subjects are, or at least manage to sound, pompous and self-regarding, convinced that their own approach (and friends a...