Historiografie en
Geschiedfilosofie
BA2 Geschiedenis Deeltentamen 2
Diede Beckers
,Inhoudsopgave
College 7 20-mrt-2017 3
College 8 27-mrt-2017 11
College 9 3-apr-2017 20
College 10 10-apr-2017 27
College 11 1-mei-2017 33
College 12 8-mei-2017 41
,College 7 20-mrt-2017
Part 2: Historiography
Dr. Felicia Rosu
English. If there are any comprehension problems, interrupt. Exam: in whatever
language you want!
This part of the course deals with a slightly less conceptual part. This is about
historiography, less conceptual.
Less theory, more history. But theory has a part too. More focus on the history of history
here
Administrative matters
• No lectures on 17 April and 24 April!
• Deeltoets 2: 15 mei, 13-15u (USC)
• Herkansing 1&2: 12 juni, 14:45-18u (Lipsius 019)
Book: basic introduction, a good book. Full of information, structural
Mission: try to make the information from the book more systematic, try to give us
structural way to understand the information
We are welcome to challenge Rosu’s perspectives (but make sure you understand
everything before challenging anything)
Recommended to read from the book before coming to the lectures. Rosu will cite the
book; invite us to talk about the book itself (authors that are mentioned, etc.). Read
chapters beforehand!
Not recommended to watch the classes online, come to class
Today’s agenda: the basics of historiography
1. Meaning
a. The What
b. The How
2. Scope
a. Chronological
b. Spatial
3. Typology
a. Fields
b. Approaches
4. Usefulness
a. Of history
b. Of historiography
1. The meaning of historiography
• What historians say about the past
o This is how Popkins start. When we ask: what has been written about the
Dutch Revolt? It is a question about historiography. So historiography can
mean this, but it’s not what we’re gonna do it in this course
• How historians say it; how they think about it
, o Historical thinking: how do historians think about the past, by doing and
looking at what? From a chronological and spacial perspective
Popkin: ‘critical assessment of the ways in which historians try to reconstruct past
events, as distinguished from the statements they make about the past’
• What are historians interested in? Sources, secondary literature, what truth,
evolution of this in time
Critical assessment of how historians do their job
2. The scope of historiography
Our approach will be…
• Chronological
• (Selectively) global
o Ambition to cover more than Europe in this course. More easily done in
the pre-Modern period
2a. Chronology
Who invented it? Who is the father of historiography?
The conventional, Eurocentric perspective suggests a variety of answers
(a.k.a. the dead white males perspective)
• Herodotus (484-420 BCE)
• Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540)
• Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886)
o Great impact on the way history is being done nowadays. Inventor of
seminar, father of objectivity (all stereotypes)
o Inventor of historiography
But there’s another perspective:
Rosu shows the spread of different civilizations throughout the world’s history. Why is
she doing it? à connection with historiography: every early civilizations have a
historiographical tradition
(Controversial theory: historiography (recording of history) appeared in civilizations
that are big enough to specialize and record history. Thesis: specializations allow
historiography, so your state has to be big enough)
Historiography was not invented in one place and then transported. Difficult for us
(European tradition): differences are not normative differences. There is not just one
way of doing history/recording history. Among those ways of recording history stayed
with us (as successful ones). We look at the ones we kept, written records of history, is
our favourite, but it doesn’t mean the other forms are not good. We use this way because
it’s useful
• History recording was not invented in one place… and it certainly wasn’t
invented in Europe
• Mesopotamia was the earliest civilization where history was recorded. India
possibly ‘last’ among world’s early civilizations; but the others (Jews, Greeks,
Romans, Chinese) recorded history almost simultaneously
