The historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe is a work of historiography by hayden white first published in 1973. Nov 01, 1973 hayden white was a historian in the tradition of literary criticism, perhaps most famous for his work metahistory. In sum,thissuggests that white, like croce,regards history asan art. Metahistory gaia and gnosis, deeper ecology, planetary.
Hayden white born 1928 is professor emeritus at the university of california, santa cruz, having recently retired from the position of professor of comparative literature at stanford university. This element is, i believe, inexpungeable from discourse in the human hayden white and the aesthetics of historiography paul a. Hayden white borrows the title for the practical past from philosopher michael oakeshott, who used the term to describe the accessible material and literaryartistic artifacts that individuals and institutions draw on for guidance in quotidian affairs. Most accusations against hayden white often argue this is what he is suggesting. Click download or read online button to get metahistory book now. The reflexive test of hayden whites metahistory request pdf. Click download or read online button to get hayden white s metahistory book now.
White american historian, critic, essayist, and editor. Since its initial publication in 1973, hayden whites metahistory has remained an essential book for understanding the nature of historical writing. Hayden white metahistory the historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe pdf in whites view, beyond the surface level of the historical text, there is a deep structural, or latent, content that is generally poetic and metahistory. Hayden whites most popular book is lotte in weimar. The first is the trend towards studying the rhetoric of history. My own analysis of the deep structure of the historical imagination of nineteenth century europe is intended to provide a new perspective on the current debate over the nature and function of historical. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
Narrative discourse and historical representation,figural realism. Hayden whites 1973 metahistory tossed the entire concept of historical science out the window, claiming that historians are fundamentally artists who imbue historical action with aesthetic and ethical purpose. Background to metahistory is long essay on the antecedents of metahistory, going back to founding of rome in 747 bce, an event in which mythical and history converge, and coming forward to the modern definition of metahistory proposed by the academic hayden white. Alan white, university of east london an excellent introduction to historical method. The book urged historians to grapple with whether and how their writing creates rather than reflects reality. The practical past, then, forms both a summa of white s work to be drawn upon and a new direction in his thinking about the writing of history. Alun munslow is the uk editor of rethinking history. In the year i began teaching 22 years ago in 1974 hayden white published in clio his article the historical text as literary artifact. The historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe 1973. Century europe by hayden white click here to access this book.
Hayden white is a controversial figure in the world of history. Myth in metahistory is on long essay on the nature of myth, the eight categories. Download studies in metahistory ebook free in pdf and epub format. Dec 06, 2017 most accusations against hayden white often argue this is what he is suggesting. Abstract hayden white s metahistory is best known for its theory of tropes. It also celebrated the ethics and art of historywriting and.
Reviews 193 whatin effect metahistory isattempting todoistocreate a methodology for history suchasnorthropfryeprovided for literarycriticism in the anatomy of criticism namely,to categorize and classify the typesand conventions of particularliteraryforms. However, white s view, especially in his later works, is more. White also derived a synoptic table that associated other fourfolds by stephen pepper organicist, mechanicist, formist, and contextualist, tropes metaphor, metonymy. It argues that hayden white s understanding of the term closely resembles that of christopher dawson, a british roman catholic author on whom white. Hayden white metahistory the historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe pdf in white s view, beyond the surface level of the historical text, there is a deep structural, or latent, content that is generally poetic and metahistory.
It argues that hayden whites understanding of the term closely resembles that of christopher dawson, a british roman catholic author on whom white wrote a lengthy article in. It marked what came to be known as the linguistic turn in historical theory, and has inspired legions of acolytes whose reverence for the master at. Jul 02, 2019 hayden white metahistory the historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe pdf in whites view, beyond the surface level of the historical text, there is a deep structural, or latent, content that is generally poetic and metahistory. Hayden white s metahistory download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl.
White, metahistory, 37f it tends to engender belief in the madness of civilization itself and to inspire a mandarinlike disdain for those seeking to grasp the nature of social reality in either science or. Read studies in metahistory online, read in mobile or kindle. Hayden white, university of california at santa cruz it is a model of concise argument and poses fundamental questions concerning the nature of historiography in a post modernist world. Deploying the autobiographical form in this essay, alun munslow addresses both a reading of the nature of the text metahistory and offers a personal contextualised history of his reading and deployment of the text in his own work. Abstract hayden whites metahistory is best known for its theory of tropes. Hayden white s 1973 metahistory tossed the entire concept of historical science out the window, claiming that historians are fundamentally artists who imbue historical action with aesthetic and ethical purpose. Hayden white july 12, 1928 march 5, 2018 was an american historian in the tradition of literary criticism, perhaps most famous for his work metahistory.
Humanity is a species endangered by its beliefs, and most of all, its religious illusion of superiority. Drawing on much of the material in the introduction to metahistory published a year earlier, white posed his now famous question, why do historians persist in failing to consider historical narratives. In 1973, historian hayden white published metahistory. In this classic work, white argues that a deep structural content lies beyond the surface level of historical texts. Hayden white metahistory free download as pdf file. Hayden white, the absurdist moment in contemporary literary theory, contemporary literature 27 summer 1976, 378. Hayden white has 39 books on goodreads with 3297 ratings. The value of narrativity in the representation of reality hayden white to raise the question of the nature of narrative is to invite reflection on the very nature of culture and, possibly, even on the nature of humanity itself. White, metahistory the historical imagination in nineteenth century europe baltimore. For 31 years he taught nineteenth and earlytwentiethcentury american history. Hayden white s metahistory download ebook pdf, epub.
He was professor emeritus at the university of california, santa cruz, and held position of professor of comparative literature at stanford university. This deeper content the metahistorical element indicates what an appropriate historical explanation should be. In white s view, beyond the surface level of the historical text, there is a deep structural, or latent, content that is generally poetic and specifically linguistic in nature. His key fourfold was that of literary emplotments due to northrop frye. The historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe. On the second page of his introduction white stated. Pdf abstract hayden whites metahistory is best known for its theory of tropes. The historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe c. Mar 09, 2014 hayden whites metahistory 1973 continued to challenge the view that history operates in a manifestly different mode from literature. White the revolutionizer of historical thought, white the medievalist, white the cultural historian, white the kind of marxist critic of western society, white the proponent of a visionary politics. Study any textbook on the theory and philosophy of history, and you will be assured that his 1973 book metahistory marked a revolutionary turning point in historical theory. Metahistory is a new word and one which is as yet unfamiliar to the ordinary reader, so that it is perhaps necessary to define what we mean by it before any discussion of its function and value. The exemplary figures chosen by white present the ideal types of historians and philosophers.
Download in white s view, beyond the surface level of the historical text, there is a deep structural, or. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Hayden white and the aesthetics of historiography pdf. It addresses itself to such questions as, what is the structure of a peculiarly his. Keywords hayden white, metahistory, representation, epistemology, narrative. This article tries to place hayden white s metahistory between two trends. The value of narrativity in the representation of reality. On whites selfconsciously anachronistic reading of droysen, droysens primary concern is with the historians order of things, with what we might call the aim or purpose of the discourse, not to be confused with its subject matter, or referent white, 1987. The following entry presents an overview of white s career through 2000. Hayden whites metahistory in 1973, historian hayden white published metahistory.
Hayden white was a historian in the tradition of literary criticism, perhaps most famous for his work metahistory. I take it that the term was coined on the analogy of metaphysics which is itself by no means an easy word to define. This latent poetic and linguistic content which white dubs the metahistorical element essentially serves as a paradigm for. Since its initial publication in 1973, hayden white s metahistory has remained an essential book for understanding the nature of historical writing. So natural is the impulse to narrate, so inevitable is the form of. Focusing on the historical work of michelet, ranke, tocqueville, and burckhardt, and in relation to hegel, marx, nietzsche, and croce, white posited that their work culminated in an ironic. The historical imagination in nineteenthcentury europe 19732014. However, after reading metahistory in the mid to late1970s, his interests as a historian moved him initially into american studies and then almost exclusively into historical theory and pract. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a.