HIST 301A(F,S) Approaching the Past: History, Theory, Practice
This course will explore how the discipline of `History' has come to assume its
present form and how a number of historians since the 1820s have understood
their craft. We will begin by discussing the work of three great nineteenth-century historians (Macaulay, Marx, and Ranke) who believed that historical "truth"
existed and could, with skill, be deciphered. Next we will explore the philosophy
and practice of the cultural and social historians of the 1960s/1970s, comparing
and contrasting it with that of their nineteenth-century predecessors. We will
then consider the work of those recent theorists who have tried to refute historians' claims to be able to capture the "truth" of the past, focusing on the state of
the field in the wake of challenges posed to its epistemological foundations by
"post-modernism." We will conclude with an assessment of the state of the discipline today. In general, we will be less concerned with "the past" than with
what historians do with "the past." Consequently, we will focus primarily on
those abstract, philosophical assumptions that have informed the practice of history.
Format: discussion. Evaluation will be based on class participation, a 250-word
position statement ("What is History?"), two 9- to 11-page interpretive essays,
and a take-hone final exam.
Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 15-20). Restricted to History majors.