History and Historians : A Historiographical Introduction

by Gilderhus, Mark T.

• ISBN13: 9780130448248
• ISBN10: 0130448249
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

For undergraduate courses in Philosophy of History and Historiography. Ideal supplemental text for American History or Western Civilization or similar survey courses. As a survey of historical thinking in the West from ancient times to the present, this accessible text focuses on historiography, philosophy of history, and historical methodology, introducing the main issues to beginning students with thorough and balanced discussions.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Aims and Purposes	1	(11)
The Beginnings of Historical Consciousness	12	(17)
Historical Consciousness in the Modern Age	29	(22)
Philosophy of History: Speculative Approaches	51	(22)
Philosophy of History: Analytical Approaches	73	(18)
Reading, Writing, and Research	91	(16)
Professional History in Recent Times	107	(25)
Postscript: Culture Wars and Postmodernism	132	(9)
Index	141

Excerpts

This book is a brief survey of Western historical thinking from ancient times to the present and also an introduction to some of the main issues and problems in historiography, philosophy of history, and historical method. It seeks to strike a balanced coverage and to make such concerns accessible to beginning students. Novice historians need to encounter questions of theory in order to grasp the nature of the discipline, but many probably lack the prerequisites to take on R. G. Collingwood straight. This small work may ease the transition. I want to express my thanks to former colleagues who shared some of these interests, notably George M. Dennison of the University of Montana and Harry Rosenberg, Manfred J. Enssle, Thomas J. Knight, and James E. Hansen III of Colorado State University. D. Clayton Brown, my department chair at Texas Christian University, aided in the process of putting together this fifth edition by providing support and encouragement. I also wish to thank those who reviewed the manuscript for this edition: James P Krokar, DePaul University; Douglas W. Richmond and Jerome Rodnitzky, University of Texas at Arlington; and Maxine N. Lurie, Seton Hall University.