Historiography

Definition
Historiography is the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline. Briefly, it is the //history of history//. Another, closely related, meaning is a body of historical work on a particular subject: How have previous historians interpreted this subject?

When you study historiography, you are not studying the past directly. Instead, you are studying the changing interpretations of past events through the works of historians. For example, you wouldn't study the First Crusade, but the way the First Crusade was interpreted by individual historians.

Historiography overviews
The historiography of a topic means the interpretations given to it by historians.

Here are some materials explaining various aspects of historiography.
 * [[file:Historiography Intro.doc]]

What are the "schools" of history?
Every historian falls into a particular category or "school" of interpretation. There are many different schools.

Here is a chart summarizing some of the chief schools of historiography:
 * [[file:Historiographical terms-RT.pdf]]

Here is a presentation of the chief schools:
 * [[file:Historiographical schools.ppt]]

For a more descriptive account, see this website: [|The Different Schools of Historiography: A Reference.]

The historiography regarding the causes of World War I
A particularly rich field of historiography has been the debate over the causes of WW1. One hundred years after the event, it remains lively! Examination yields some interesting insights into how our historical understanding of an event develops over time.


 * [[file:WW1 Causes-Historiog summary.pdf]]
 * [[file:WW1 Responsibility -Historiography.pdf]]
 * “[|How Interpretations of WW I Have Changed With Evolving Events]” by J. Ergueta

Historiographical sources

 * [|"Introducing Students to Historiography in the AP European History Classroom"], by Paul Hibbeln, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Developing an analysis of the historiography of a given topic

 * "[|How to Create a Historiography]", by Springshare, an online resource of the School of Library and Information Sciences, University of Rhode Island.