History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction (6th Edition) [Paperback]

Mark T. Gilderhus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0132286785 | ISBN-13: 978-0132286787 | Edition: 6

For undergraduate and graduate courses in Historiography and Historical Method. Also an ideal supplemental text for Western Civilization and Intellectual History courses. This text is a concise, brief, and accessible introductory text presenting a thorough, balanced, and comprehensive overview of Western historical thinking from ancient times through the present. Reaching to readers of all levels, it covers major areas such as historiography, philosophy of history, and historical methodology, as well as material on contemporary "culture wars" and current debates on post modernism.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Surveying historical thinking in the West from ancient times until the present, this very accessible text focuses on historiography, philosophy of history, and historical methodology, introducing the main issues and problems to beginning students with thorough and balanced discussions. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

History and Historians

A Historiographical Introduction

Sixth Edition

 

Mark T. Gilderhus

 

 

This concise, best-selling volume presents a thorough and comprehensive overview of Western historical thinking from ancient times until the present. History and Historians surveys the main issues and problems in areas such as historiography, philosophy of history, and historical methodology. The book strives for a balanced coverage and attempts to make the subject accessible to readers at all levels. This revised Sixth Edition includes expanded coverage of postmodernism and the controversial questions it raised for historians in the United States and abroad. Also new is the placement of the reading, writing, and research chapter, which is now located at the end of the book for easier reference.

 

 

 

MAIN TOPICS

Aims and Purposes               

The Beginnings of Historical Consciousness            

Historical Consciousness in the Modern Age           

Philosophy of History: Speculative Approaches       

Philosophy of History: Analytical Approaches

Professional History in Recent Times    

Culture Wars, Postmodernism, and Other Issues      

Reading, Writing, and Research

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 6 edition (March 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132286785
• ISBN-13: 978-0132286787
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > History > Historical Study > Philosophy of History

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great overview, December 10, 2005

By 

R. W. Levesque (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction (5th Edition) (Paperback)

This short book does a good job of providing an overview of Western historical thinking from Herodotus and Thucydides to the modern period. The first chapter is a brief discussion of why we study history to begin with: curiosity, a need to bring order to the world, identify cause and effect, study the identity of a people, calculate the consequences of our actions, and to provide society's memory.

Chapters two and three review the evolution of historical writings and their approach. Gilderhus begins with the ancient historians with a discussion of history in Greece and Rome and then reviews the influence of Christian thought; a paradigm against which history revealed the workings of God's plan. This perspective began to disappear as Western Christianity divided and historians of various religious persuasions wrote histories supporting their perspectives of the past. Enlightenment historians went on to reject a religious approach or even a factual approach wishing to rely on reason for their proofs while at the same time denigrating the past. This gave way to the influence of romanticism and nationalism in the 19th century which led to a more scientific approach to research and analysis. (p. 36) (In some ways this was a reaction to the emphasis on religion and God on man but it could also be a reaction to the renaissance emphasis on the greatness of classical civilizations.)

Chapter 4 then reviews the philosophical aspects (speculative approaches) of history; Gilderhus says there are three schema: cyclical, providential, and progressive (p. 49) and discusses each in turn. Chapter 5 reviews the analytical philosophical approaches to history reflected in the positivist approach (general laws exist that govern the outcomes of human affairs, and idealist thought (which believed that because history was about man, who had free will, history was not repeatable). Chapter six is a simple overview of types of historical papers and research. The last chapter summarizes the state of historiography as it has evolved in the last century.

Entire books have been written about each of the areas addressed in Gilderhus' book; the strength of this book is that it provides a simple easy-to-read overview of the whole field and the thinking behind history.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction in Historiography, October 2, 2009

By 

Jordan T. Lawrence (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction (5th Edition) (Paperback)

I have to preface this with the caveat that my graduate-level historiography class was taught by Dr. Gilderhus, though that was several years ago. Then again, he didn't see the need to use this text at that level of study. Where I first read it was in my undergraduate historiography class. The text isn't earth-shattering nor meant as such. As an undergraduate though, I found the text highly informative on the basics of the history of history, its theory and various methodologies. Dr. Gilderhus has come up with perhaps the most elegant, but not simplistic, definition of what history is that I have yet to read. For Dr. Gilderhus, history is "the true story of the human past." It's a definition that works well for the non-history types but still offers something for more advanced readers to unpack. And that's the beauty of this text. It's not meant as a complex treatise on historiography but as an initial pass at the major figures, modes of thought and methodological developments that have brought Western historical thought to where it stands today. For a beginning student or avid amateur you'll find the text an accessible entry-point into historiography. While there are many other texts, such as E.H. Carr's "What Is History?" that provide a deeply nuanced examination of the field, having the basics already laid out allows one to focus on those nuances without needing to look up a name every other page.
I would recommend this text to anyone, even advanced-level history students, who want to quickly grasp the basics of historiography. As any good primer text does, "History & Historians" invites the reader to delve deeper into the topic but still stands on its own strengths. I gave the text only a three-star rating because, as I said, it isn't a masterful and innovative text. Instead, the text is a solid, cursory overview of the field. Complaints about its lack of depth miss the point. If you want complex theory then move on to Hayden White or Lynn Hunt. But as an introductory text it does the job and does it well.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise and Informative, March 7, 2000

By 

Alan Kirby (Salem, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction (4th Edition) (Paperback)

An excellent book introducing the origins of historical thought, the changing ideas and methods of history, and the challenges of history in the postmodern era. Also, the introduction provides a great discussion on the importance of studying history. A very understandable and readable book, only 135 pages. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in studying historical philosophy.