History in Practice/ Jordonova

Jordonova talks about the practice of history, rather than a theoretical approach. "What historians actually do, and how and why they do it"


  • The most important work of a historian is writing. 
  • Practice of history - finding sources -- archives, oral history, engaging with the material, writing.
  • However reliable, even in the hands of the most impartial historian, documents can never tell us what happened in the past objectively
  • What do historians mean by "truth"? -- Mistaken claims to knowledge
  • History is neither an art nor a science
  • Primary and Secondary sources - subject both to unsparing irterrogation
  • Public history: History has written and produced by salaried historians against what the public seems to think happened (collective memory)  -- popular history
  • Public history - deeply political




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