Abstract
In this work of sweeping erudition, one of our foremost historians of early Christianity considers a variety of theoretical critiques to examine the problems and opportunities posed by the ways in which history is written. Elizabeth Clark argues forcefully for a renewal of the study of premodern Western history through engagement with the kinds of critical methods that have transformed other humanities disciplines in recent decades.
History, Theory, Text provides a user-friendly survey of crucial developments in nineteenth- and twentieth-century debates surrounding history, philosophy, and critical theory. Beginning with the "noble dream" of "history as it really was" in the works of Leopold von Ranke, Clark goes on to review Anglo-American philosophies of history, schools of twentieth-century historiography, structuralism, the debate over narrative history, the changing fate of the history of ideas, and the impact of interpretive anthropology and literary theory on current historical scholarship. In a concluding chapter she offers some practical case studies to illustrate how attending to theoretical considerations can illuminate the study of premodernity. // Table of contents
An Overview
1
1 Defending and Lamenting History
9
2 AngloAmerican Philosophy and t...
29
3 Language and Structures
42
4 The Territory of the Historian
63
5 Narrative and History
86
6 The New Intellectual History
106
7 Texts and Contexts
130
8 History Theory and Premodern T...
156
Abbreviations and Frequently Cit...
187
Notes
193
History, Theory, Text provides a user-friendly survey of crucial developments in nineteenth- and twentieth-century debates surrounding history, philosophy, and critical theory. Beginning with the "noble dream" of "history as it really was" in the works of Leopold von Ranke, Clark goes on to review Anglo-American philosophies of history, schools of twentieth-century historiography, structuralism, the debate over narrative history, the changing fate of the history of ideas, and the impact of interpretive anthropology and literary theory on current historical scholarship. In a concluding chapter she offers some practical case studies to illustrate how attending to theoretical considerations can illuminate the study of premodernity. // Table of contents
An Overview
1
1 Defending and Lamenting History
9
2 AngloAmerican Philosophy and t...
29
3 Language and Structures
42
4 The Territory of the Historian
63
5 Narrative and History
86
6 The New Intellectual History
106
7 Texts and Contexts
130
8 History Theory and Premodern T...
156
Abbreviations and Frequently Cit...
187
Notes
193