Title: History Pdf A Very Short Introduction
Author: John Arnold
Published Date: 2000-02-24
Page: 134
"John Arnold builds around a few glittering fragments of the past-- a medieval murderer, a 17th-century pension to an abandoned wife, a speech by a black woman born into slavery-- a whole exhibition about what history is and is not. Writing with lucidity and passion, he lays out for inspection all the ways of recounting and exploiting the past through narrative which has been used from Herodotus to Hobsbawn. His range of knowledge and interests is phenomenal, but his skills as a communicator makes his own subtle analysis of history's history as gripping as a novel."--Neal AschersonJohn Arnold teaches history at the University of East Anglia, specializing in the medieval period and the philosophy of history.
The aim throughout History: A Very Short Introduction is to discuss theories of history in a general, pithy, and accessible manner, rather than delve into specific periods. This is a book that will appeal to all students and general readers with an interest in history or historiography.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.
Excellent overview of historiography A really excellent overview of historiography and the reasons for studying or creating history, and the ways those reasons have changed and evolved to suit the needs of the society in which a history is being produced. This year I embarked on a project to read 100 books that cover the history of the world, and this was book 1 in my project and was the perfect introduction to get my brain thinking critically and studiously as I proceed through the rest of my list.A Well Written and Thought-provoking Introduction: Arnold's lucid and slender book is worthy of praise for its concision and accessible writing style. The clear writing enables non-specialists to entertain some of the central questions in Historiography and Philosophy of History. His use of historical examples to illustrate important points is skillful and engaging. Some of these examples include a religiously motivated medieval murder at the time of the inquisition; the story of one man who lived through both the English Civil War and the religious conflicts in the early Massachusetts Colony then governed by John Winthrop; a case of cat-killing in 17C France with an accompanying discussion of the history of attitudes towards cats; and the case of Sojourner Truth's famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech-- which survives in 2 very different records--neither of which is the same as what she said in the speech. Despite the relatively jargon-free writing, the author manages to articulate many of the central questions, problems and challenges facing contemporary historians who try to make sense of their craft. If he offers more questions than definitive answers, that is in keeping with his tendency to debunk those historians and philosophers who have claimed to have final answers to extremely complex questions. If the book has a thesis at all, it is probably that one should be extremely cautious about the use of historical constructs, generalizations and abstractions that are too often confused with the past itself. An obvious example is periodization. Students often learn about the Renaissance, Middle Ages and Enlightenment periods as though these are realities that existed in the past. But no one in, say, the year 900 CE thought that they lived in "the middle ages" while those who claimed to be part of "the" Enlightenment" often had very different conceptions of just what constituted Enlightenment.Though it is pretty clear that periods and epochs are historical constructs often made by historians long after the events in question, it is far from clear that there is "never" a single cause for a historical event, that "most if not all" history consists in unintended consequences of past actions, that historians cannot ever claim to have an objectively true understanding of the past as it "really" was, that there is no basic human nature shared by all, that standards of right and wrong (as when historians say that a political leader made the "right" or "wrong" decision) are relative to time and place, and that there is no Truth in history but only partly accurate interpretations molded into what Arnold calls "True Stories." These are some of the main claims he makes in a soft-selling and thought provoking way. He doesn't seem dogmatic about his views, often stating them in the 1st person as his own preferences.While I do not agree with some of the claims Arnold makes, I nevertheless found much food for thought throughout. Perhaps the only exception is the last chapter on truth and meaning in history. There Arnold observes a clear distinction between accurate and inaccurate records of past events while denying the corollary that accurate records of events imply truth, while inaccurate records cannot be historically true in any conventional sense of the term. He writes, "dispensing with 'Truth' does not mean dispensing with accuracy." But to know that an account is accurate requires that you know it is true. I don't see how one can decouple the interrelated ideas of accuracy and truth. Simply put, if a record of the "Ain't I a Woman?" speech is grossly inaccurate, then it is false and not true historically. The author tries, I think vainly, to wiggle around this logic when he maintains that a poetically reworked version of the speech is just as true as an earlier and more faithful recording of it since the embellished version "may capture something very different about the woman [who made the speech], how she acted and was perceived by those who knew her." That impressionistic notion of truth is impossible to ascertain, and leaves us on a slippery slope conflating artful descriptions with truths.But my disagreements are less important than the fact that this quick read got me to sift through some of my own beliefs and views on a variety of other matters, and I am not at all new to the philosophy of history. Despite some less than convincing arguments, the book as a whole stimulates independent, critical thinking, and its tone respects the readers' judgments rather than preaching any particular gospel. Recommended.History: A Very Good Introduction At first I was very skeptical of this book--how does one "introduce" history, much less do it in 123 pages? I've taken two historiography courses--one undergrad and another in graduate school--and both required very long, very dull books on the "history of history."But John Arnold does it. In this short book, Arnold covers all the basics--both the origins and development of history as a craft, as well as summaries of modern concepts of "history," "truth," and the various problems confronting historians of both past and present. And he does it all without hammering the reader with jargon or heavy-handed intellectualism. This book perfectly balances academics with clarity.Perhaps Arnold's most impressive feat is that his book is actually interesting. Having slaved through my share of histories and histories of history, this Very Short Introduction was a breath of fresh air. This book is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in history or the history of history.Highly recommended.
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