The Problem of History

Jørgen Møller

doi:10.1017/S1049096522000348

The Problem of History

Institut for Statskundskab

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

1 Citationer (Scopus)

137 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The ongoing historical turn in political science makes it more important than ever that we, as a profession, have open conversations about the nature of the evidence we enlist from trained historians. This article emphasizes that history should be recognized as an - often speculative and incomplete - interpretation of bygone times and places that we no longer can know for sure. Much of what we commonly believe about the past depends on narrative sources written long after the fact and influenced by later circumstances and points of view, on outdated historical research, or on singular and often biased contemporary sources. Discussing how to respond to this problem of history, the article calls for a shift of cognitive style: that is, treating the work of historians in a more self-conscious and critical way and clearly signaling this when we present our research. Three more particular guidelines - be up-to-date, be specific, and be cautious - exemplify this approach.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Tidsskrift	PS: Political Science & Politics
Vol/bind	55
Nummer	3
Sider (fra-til)	525-529
Antal sider	5
ISSN	1049-0965
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096522000348
Status	Udgivet - 21 jul. 2022

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10.1017/S1049096522000348

The Problem of History_Accepted manuscript_2022Accepteret manuskript, 371 KBLicens: CC BY-NC-ND

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The Problem of History

Abstract

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