Historian
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- This article refers to those who study the subject of history. For medical uses of the term "historian", please refer to the Historian (medical) article. For the 2005 book by Elizabeth Kostova, see The Historian.
A historian is someone who writes history, a written accounting of the past. If events precede recorded history, the term is prehistory. Although "historian" can be used to describe amateur and professional historians alike, it is now often reserved for people whose work is recognized in academia, particularly those who have acquired graduate degrees in the discipline.
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[edit] Historical analysis
The process of historical analysis is a difficult one, involving investigation and analysis of competing ideas, facts and purported facts to create coherent narratives that explain "what happened" and "why or how it happened". Modern historical analysis usually draws upon most of the other social sciences, including economics, sociology, politics, psychology, anthropology, philosophy and linguistics, in order to ensure that these narratives will start from the beginning of the world. These prefaces are usually of much less historical interest. While ancient writers do not normally share modern historical practices, their work remains valuable for its insights within the cultural context of the times.
An important part of the contribution of many modern historians is the verification or, as revisionist history, the dismissal of earlier historical accounts through reviewing newly discovered sources and recent scholarship or through parallel disciplines such as archaeology.
[edit] Developments prior to the twentieth century
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Although references are often made to the ancient writers such as Herodotus, the so-called father of history, or Tacitus (c. 56–c. 117) as historians, their works do not meet the modern standards of impartiality and objectivity. Many of the historians of the past have been called upon to write histories either to furnish a king or a ruling class with a lineage, thereby offering it legitimacy, or to give a people a cultural heritage and sense of identity (see aetiology). This meant that the works of these historians openly mixed oratory, poetry and literature in a way which is incompatible with the contemporary concern for impartiality and objectivity. This does not necessarily devalue their work but does require that their efforts be considered within their cultural context.
Concerning Herodotus (5th century BC), one of the earliest nameable historians whose work survives, his recount of strange and unusual tales are gripping but not necessarily representative of the historical record. Despite this, The Histories of Herodotus displays some of the techniques of more modern historians. He interviewed witnesses, evaluated oral histories, studied multiple sources and then pronounced his particular version.
Herodotus's works covered what was then the entire known world of the Greeks, or at least the part regarded as worthy of study, i.e., the peoples surrounding the Mediterranean. At about the same time, Thucydides pioneered a different form of history, one much closer to reportage. In his work, History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides wrote about a single long conflict with its origins and results. But, as it was mainly within living memory and Thucydides himself was alive at the time of many of the events, there was less room for myths and tall tales.
Much of the groundwork in creating the modern figure of the historian was done by Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755). His wide-ranging Spirit of the Laws (1748) spanned legal, geographical, cultural, economic, political and philosophical studies and was greatly influential in forging the fundamentally interdisciplinary historian.
Referred to as "the first modern historian", Edward Gibbon wrote his grand opus, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (three vols., 1776–1788). However, some authors such as Christiansen regard ancient Greek author Polybius as the first historian of a modern kind, criticising sources and making unbiased judgements based on presumed neutral analysis; indeed, Livy used him as a source. Polybius, one of the first historians to attempt to present history as a sequence of causes and effects, carefully conducted his research—partly based on what he saw and partly on the communications of eye-witnesses and the participants in the events.
[edit] Twentieth-century developments
See also Historiography
At the turn of the twentieth century, Western history remained notoriously biased toward the so-called "Great Men" school of history concerning wars, diplomacy, science and politics. This point of view was inherently predisposed toward the study of a small number of powerful men within the socio-economic elite.
A pronounced shift away from crude Whiggish analyses has started, in favor of a more critical and precise perspective. For example, a common myth is that Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb; a traditional American history might highlight Edison's story at the expense of all others. In contrast, a modern history of Edison mentions all his predecessors and competitors, in order to show that Edison's real accomplishments were in concert with the successful commercial deployment of technology (in tandem with inventor Joseph Swann, hence the Edi-Swann company).
Since the 1960s, history as an academic discipline has undergone several evolutions. These changes fostered advances in a number of areas previously unrecognized in historiography. Formerly neglected topics have become the subject of academic study, such as the history of popular culture, mass culture, sexuality, geographical culture and the lives of ordinary people.
Historians also started investigating the histories of ideas surrounding various categories of people, such as women's studies (including an entire branch of women's history), racial minorities (like African-American history) or disabled people (e.g., an historian's study of the construction of ideas about disabled people and the results thereof, perhaps in a specific historical setting, such as Nazi Germany).
[edit] Recent developments
Today, many historians are employed at universities and other facilities for post-secondary education. In addition, it is common, although not required, for many historians to have a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in their chosen areas of study. During the preparation of their thesis for this degree, many develop into their first book, since regular publishing activities are essential for advancement in academia. There is currently a great deal of controversy among academic historians regarding the possibility and desirability of the neutrality in historical scholarship.
The job market for graduate historians is relatively limited. Historians typically work in libraries, universities, archival centers, government agencies (particularly heritage) and as freelance consultants. Many with a history degree also may become involved with administrative or clerical professions and a history degree is often used as a "stepping stone" to further studies such as a law degree.
The term "buff" is sometimes used to describe an historian, such as stating that an historian of the Second World War is a "World War II Buff". This term is normally regarded as somewhat insulting to professional historians, since "buffs" are those typically who study history as a minor hobby and do not have the same training and background of a professional historian who has received college level academic training in a given field.
There is also the related expansion in the popularity of history as a subject for television programmes, which has led to the growth of "super historians" known variously as "superdons" or "celebrity dons", who can present their own views to a wider audience. Simon Schama or David Starkey are examples.
[edit] Controversy over preceding indefinite article
The English word "historian" is derived from the French word historien, pronounced with a silent "h". For this reason, many people couple the indefinite article "an" (rather than "a") with "historian"; i.e., "Herodotus was an historian," rather than "Herodotus was a historian". However, since in English usage the "h" in "historian" is clearly pronounced, most writers and speakers prefer "a historian."
[edit] See also
- Historiography
- List of Canadian historians
- List of chess historians
- List of historians - by name
- List of historians by area of study
- List of historians of the French Revolution
- List of Jewish historians
[edit] Bibliography
- John Cannon et al., eds. (1988). The Blackwell Dictionary of Historians. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1988 ISBN 0-631-14708-X.
- Kelly Boyd, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing. London [etc.] : Fitzroy Dearborn ISBN 1-884964-33-8
- Richard B. Todd, ed. (2004). Dictionary of British Classicists, 1500–1960, Bristol: Thoemmes Continuum, 2004 ISBN 1-85506-997-0.
- Erik Christiansen (1970). The Last Hundred Years of the Roman Republic, Odense: Andelsbogtrykkeriet
