Munslow A. A History of History

London, New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2012. — 235 p. — ISBN: 978-0-203-10256-5 (ebk)In a provocative analysis of European and American historical thinking and practice since the early eighteenth century, A History of History confronts several basic assumptions about the nature of
history. Among these are the concept of ‘historical realism’, the belief in representationalism and the idea that the past possesses its own narrative. What is offered in this book is a far-reaching and fundamental re-thinking of realist and representationalist ‘history of a particular kind’ by addressing and explaining the ideas of major philosophers of history over the past three hundred years and those of the key theorists of today. In pursuing this radical analysis, the understanding of history as a narrative is evaluated along with contemporary notions such as the continuing presence of the past
and the idea of ‘its lessons’. Written by one of the leading thinkers on the subject, A History of History provides an accessible and radical history of history while offering new insights into the pressing questions of the nature, purpose and function of history.
This book is an essential text for all students, teachers and consumers of history.Alun Munslow is a founding and UK editor of Rethinking History: The Journal of Theory and Practice. His recent publications include Narrative and History (2007) and The Future of History (2010).The emergence of modern historical thinking
History and/as science
Forms of history
History of a particular kind and the rise of the multi-sceptical historian
Refiguring the past
An improper contempt for proper history
The presence of the past
The end of a historical consciousness of a particular kind