Historiography is the study of how history is written. How can we 'know' the past? What assumptions underpin our historical methods? What truth claims can historians validly make? Part 1 analyses three major schools of history-writing from the 19th century to the present: positivist (or empiricist) history; social and cultural history; and the challenges posed to history by postmodernism. Part 2 consists of three modules, each of which addresses the theoretical underpinnings, strengths and weaknesses of one particular form of recent historiography, concentrating on the works of major writers in the field. Each of the historiographical approaches have their own claims to validity, and... -- Course Website
Prerequisites: a major in History to an adequate standard
