10/28/24, 11:54 AM Definition AND Scope OF Historiography

DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF HISTORIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

The desire to know the past is one of the most important natural instincts of humans.
In a nutshell, history is the study of past events in our lives. In its most basic form,
history is a narrative of humanity's past events. A record of the unique events in a
human being's life is referred to as history. History can be defined as a methodical
account of past events that attempts to tell the truth. The word "history" comes from
the Greek word "istoria," which means "inquiry, research, exploration, or knowledge."
History, according to Aristotle, is an account of human life's unchanging past.
History, according to Indian tradition, means "what happened." History is defined in a
variety of ways by different academics. Human civilization is the subject of history.
The systematic study of man's interaction with his environment is known as history.
History is referred to as the "mother" of all social sciences.
This unit will cover the art of history writing, also known as "historiography." This
unit will also cover the meaning, definition, scope, and objectivity of history. At the
same time, we will discuss some important historical categories in this unit.

MEANING AND DEFINITION OF HISTORIOGRAPHY

A historian records the events of the past, and history is a record of those events.
Historiography is the process of documenting past events. Historiography, in fact, is
the study of the history of history writing. With the help of the historian, we
reconstruct the past. It could be said that we saw human civilization's past events
through the eyes of a historian. The art of writing history is known as historiography.
It's also about the shifting patterns of historical writing over time. The process of
writing history changes from time to time. Historiography encompasses these shifting
patterns of history writing. As a result, historiography is not only about how one
records past events, but also about how history writing patterns change over time.
Historiography is the study of the evolution of historical writing over time.

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The Greeks are credited with starting the history writing tradition.
Herodotus, a Greek historian, is known as the "Father of History."
Historiography is a relatively new field of research. In the post-nineteenth century, the
term was first used. "Historiography" is made up of two words: "History" and
"Graphos." Graphos is a Greek word that means "writing." As a result, historiography
literally translates to "history writing."

Origin of Historiography

The Greeks are credited with starting the history writing tradition. Myths and legends
abound in the environment in which they began their work. Early Greek
historiographies, written before the fifth century BC, lacked a chronology. Early
Greek historiography was primarily concerned with Greek society. Historiography can
be traced back to this point. The Greeks' history was recorded by the Logographers in
the 6th century BC. Prior to 650 BC, however, Greek history was a mix of fact and
fiction. Herodotus, known as the "Father of History," took a methodical approach to
writing history. Herodotus ushered in a new era of scientific historiography in the
world with his writings. The Romans took the spirit of historical writings from the
Greeks. Later, the spirit of historical writings spread throughout the globe.

Objectivity in History

In history, objectivity refers to a history that is neutral, unbiased, and free of bias. It is
critical for the historian to separate his personal opinions from the true facts when
reconstructing the true picture of past events. Ranke discussed the concept of
historical objectivity. He believes that if documents or facts are examined
scientifically, the facts will speak for themselves. And historians' job is to simply
present the facts of history as they are, without passing personal judgement. Historical
objectivity, according to those who regard history as a complete science, is possible.
Objectivity, on the other hand, is neither possible nor desirable in history. Because
historical facts are never 'pure,' and are always filtered through the mind of the

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recorder. History is the reconstruction of the past, and the process of reconstruction
determines which facts are chosen and how they are interpreted. A simple fact
becomes a historical fact as a result of this. As a result, subjectivity is always present
in history. However, in order to accurately portray the past, historians should try to
remain as neutral as possible without passing any bias judgments.

SCOPE OF HISTORIOGRAPHY

The scope of historiography continues to evolve with the passage of time. Because
history is concerned with human civilization, it encompasses all aspects of human life
that are directly or indirectly related to the human being. However, at first,
historiography was primarily focused on political issues. King's used to appoint court
poets to keep track of their heroic exploits in ancient times. Apart from that, these
court poets used to keep track of the court's and administration's daily activities.
Because these recorders were appointed by the king, they tended to represent the
ruling class's positive side most of the time. There was nothing about the common
man and his life at the time, and only the great man was the centre of attraction.
However, the scenario has been gradually altered. Historians have shifted their focus
away from the great man and toward the common man. Historians have focused on
various aspects of human life, such as social, economic, religious, and cultural. The
dominant trends in historiography are gender history, subaltern history, and
environmental histories. With the passage of time, historiography's scope has
broadened, and it now encompasses all aspects of human life.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HISTORY

History is the systematic study of human life's evolution and development. As a result,
history is concerned with various aspects of human life. History is a vast subject that
encompasses many different aspects. Historians have divided history into various
categories, such as political history, economic history, social history, religious history,

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and so on, in order to have a proper in-depth knowledge of these various aspects. We'll
talk about the different types of history in this section.

Political History

Political history is a crucial branch of history because politics is a vital activity that
results in radical, rapid, and far-reaching changes. All history, according to English
historians, is political history, with history serving as the root and politics serving as
the fruit. All past politics, they believed, was present history. Political activity, whether
in the form of monarchy or democracy, has dominated the life of mankind since the
dawn of time.
Political history encompasses all political events, such as wars, revolts, and the
evolution of political institutions. Politics, according to Acton, is like gold grains
deposited in the sands of time by the stream of history. According to Aristotle, the
political aspects of history are the medium through which mankind grows and
develops. Political history is divided into two branches: constitutional and diplomatic
history. The origins, development, nature, and functions of political institutions are all
traced in constitutional history. Diplomatic history is concerned with the fundamentals
of international relations. Political history, like historiography, is an important aspect
of both history and historiography in this way.

Economic History

The study of economic history is concerned with the economic aspects of humanity.
According to Karl Marx, the economy is the most important factor in bringing about
any revolutionary social change. All other aspects of human life were greatly
influenced by the economy. Marx advocated for a materialistic view of history.
Economic motives have been used to explain class struggle, consumption,
distribution, production, agriculture, industry, arts and crafts, trade, business,
commerce, land revenue, taxes, colonisation, imperialism, capitalism, and all other
human activities. As a result, economic history is a vital branch of history.

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Social History

The study of social history focuses on the institutions and issues that are directly or
indirectly related to humanity and society. Social history studies customs, habits,
dress, food, family, manners, amusements, festivals, ceremonies, and other essential
activities of human life. According to Toynbee, societies are the atoms that make up
history, and it is societies, not individuals or nations, that make up the components of
histories. The origins and development of social institutions, as well as the cultural
aspects of human evolution from savagery to civilization, were highlighted in social
history. As a result, historians are increasingly focusing on social history.

LET US SUM UP

We learned about the meaning and definition of history after completing this unit. A
record of the unique events in a human being's life is referred to as history. The word
"history" comes from the Greek word "istoria," which means "inquiry, research,
exploration, or knowledge." Human civilization is the subject of history. It is a
systematic investigation of man's interaction with his surroundings.
the definition of historiography The art of writing history is known as historiography.
It's about the shifting patterns of historical writing over time. The process of writing
history changes from time to time. Historiography is concerned not only with how
past events are recorded, but also with the changing patterns of history writing over
time. Historiography is the study of the evolution of historical writing over time. In
the post-nineteenth century, the term was first used. "Historiography" is made up of
two words: "History" and "Graphos." Graphos is a Greek word that means "writing."
As a result, historiography literally translates to "history writing."
The Greeks are responsible for the earliest history writing tradition. Early Greek
historiographies, written before the fifth century BC, lacked a chronology. Early
Greek historiography was primarily concerned with Greek society. Historiography can
be traced back to this point. Herodotus, known as the "Father of History," took a

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methodical approach to writing history. Herodotus ushered in a new era of scientific

historiography in the world with his writings. The Romans took the spirit of historical
writings from the Greeks. Later, the spirit of historical writings spread throughout the
globe.
about historical objectivity In history, objectivity refers to a history that is neutral,
unbiased, and free of bias. The historian should not mix his personal opinions with the
true facts when reconstructing the true picture of past events. Objectivity, on the other
hand, is neither possible nor desirable in history. Because historical facts are never
'pure,' and are always filtered through the mind of the recorder. History is the
reconstruction of the past, and the process of reconstruction determines which facts
are chosen and how they are interpreted. A simple fact becomes a historical fact as a
result of this. As a result, subjectivity is always present in history.
The scope of historiography is a term that refers to the study of the past.
Historiography's scope has broadened over time, and it now encompasses all aspects
of human life, including political, social, economic, cultural, and legal issues. The
dominant trends in historiography are gender history and subaltern histories.
the various historical categories
History is a vast subject that encompasses many different aspects. Historians have
divided history into various categories, such as political history, economic history,
social history, and so on, in order to have a proper in-depth knowledge of these
various aspects.
Political history is concerned with the political aspects of life. Political history is
divided into two branches: constitutional and diplomatic history. The origins,
development, nature, and functions of political institutions are all traced in
constitutional history. Diplomatic history is concerned with the fundamentals of
international relations. The study of economic history is concerned with the economic
aspects of humanity. The study of social history focuses on the institutions and issues
that are directly or indirectly related to humanity and society.

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