The purpose of the past : reflections on the uses of history /

History is to society what memory is to the individual: without it, we don't know who we are, and we can't make wise decisions about where we should be going. But while the nature of memory is a constant, the nature of history has changed radically over the past forty years, for good but a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wood, Gordon S.
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Penguin Press, 2008.
Subjects:
Table of Contents:
  • "Influence" in history
  • Anachronism in history
  • Narrative history
  • The lessons of history
  • Continuity in history
  • History and the new historicism
  • History as fiction
  • History as high politics
  • Microhistory
  • Truth in history
  • History versus political theory
  • History without ideas
  • History and heritage
  • Comparative history
  • Postmodern history
  • Satirical history
  • Multicultural history
  • History and myth
  • History as cultural criticism
  • Race, class, gender and history writing
  • Presentism in history.