"What is History For? is a timely publication that examines the purpose and point of historical studies. Recent debates on the role of the humanities and the ongoing impact of poststructuralist thought on the very nature of historical enquiry, have rendered the question "what is history for?" of utmost importance.
Charting the development of historical studies, Beverley Southgate examines the various uses to which history has been put. While history has often supposedly been studied "for its own sake," Southgate argues that this seemingly innocent approach masks an inherent conservatism and exposes the ways in which history, has, sometimes deliberately, sometimes inadvertently, been used for socio-political purposes. With traditional notions of truth and historical representation now under question, it has become vital to rethink the function of history and renegotiate its uses for the post-modern age. History in the 21st century, Southgate proposes, should adopt a morally therapeutic role that seeks to advance human happiness.
This fascinating historicisation of the study of history is unique in its focus on the future of the subject as well as its past. What is History For? provides compulsive reading for the general reader and students alike.
Zusammenfassung
An experienced author of history and theory presents this examination of the purpose of history at a time when recent debates have rendered the question 'what is history for?' of utmost importance.Charting the development of historical studies and examining how history has been used, this study is exceptional in its focus on the future of the subject as well as its past. It is argued that history in the twenty-first century must adopt a radical and morally therapeutic role instead of studying for 'its own sake'.Providing examples of his vision of 'history in post-modernity', Beverley Southgate focuses on the work of four major historians, including up-to-date publications:Robert A. Rosenstone's study of Americans living in nineteenth-century JapanPeter Novick's work on the HolocaustSven Lindgvist's A History of BombingTzvetan Todorov's recently published work on the twentieth century.This makes compulsive reading for all students of history, cultural studies and the general reader, as notions of historical truth and the reality of the past are questioned, and it becomes vital to rethink history's function and renegotiate its uses for the postmodern age.
Inhalt
1. Humanities and Therapeutic Education 2. History for its Own Sake 3. Professed Purposes 4. Hidden Agendas 5. Life and Needs in Postmodernity 6. History in Postmodernity: Future Prospects 7. Histories for Postmodernity: Some Aspirations 8. Histories for Postmodernity: Some Examples