historiography
Study of historians
Historiography is the study of how history is written—the methods, theories, and debates among historians about interpreting the past.
It examines not just what happened but how different scholars have understood and presented events: The historiography of the Civil War has shifted dramatically over the decades.
Historiography also refers to a body of historical writing on a particular subject: the historiography of the French Revolution.
Study of interpretation methods
- revisionismReexamining established doctrine
- perspectiveAttitude or spatial rendering
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- contextualizationPlacing something within circumstances
paradigm · deconstruction · postmodernism · constructivism · relativism · subjectivity · agency · causation
Ancient Greek historiographer
- ThucydidesGreek historiographer, fifth-century BCE
- TacitusRoman senator and historian
- historicismEra determines truth claims
- antiquarianismEnthusiasm for old artifacts
Ordered historical record
- annalsYear-by-year historical account
- archivesStored historical documents
- chronologyTemporal ordering of events
- timelineOrdered display of events
records · narrative · memoirs · journal · documentation · manuscript · monograph · register
Facts supporting truth
- bibliographyList of cited works
- citationsAcknowledged source mentions
- footnotesMarginal citations below text
- quantitativeConcerning measurable amounts
qualitative · triangulation · corroboration · validation · reliability · authenticity · provenance · heuristics
Origin of written work
- compositionArranged elements forming whole
- narrativeAccount of events
- proseUnversified language
- publicationIssued written material
edition · redaction · preface · introduction · appendix · footnotes · chapter · synthesis
hermeneutics
Study of interpretation methods
- revisionismReexamining established doctrine
- perspectiveAttitude or spatial rendering
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
contextualization · paradigm · deconstruction · postmodernism · constructivism · relativism · subjectivity · agency · causation · teleology
Herodotus
Ancient Greek historiographer
- ThucydidesGreek historiographer, fifth-century BCE
- TacitusRoman senator and historian
- historicismEra determines truth claims
chronicle
Ordered historical record
- annalsYear-by-year historical account
- archivesStored historical documents
- chronologyTemporal ordering of events
timeline · records · narrative · memoirs · journal · documentation · manuscript · monograph · register · catalogue
evidence
Facts supporting truth
- bibliographyList of cited works
- citationsAcknowledged source mentions
- footnotesMarginal citations below text
quantitative · qualitative · triangulation · corroboration · validation · reliability · authenticity · provenance · heuristics · philology
authorship
Origin of written work
- compositionArranged elements forming whole
- narrativeAccount of events
- proseUnversified language
publication · edition · redaction · preface · introduction · appendix · footnotes · chapter · synthesis · thesis
- historyancient civilizations, past events, epochs, era, epoch
- academic fieldsmathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, philosophy
- disciplinesbiology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, psychology
- humanitiesphilosophy, literature, philosophy class, novels, humanities
- researchstudy, research papers, researching, archive, peer review
- historieschronicle, annals, biography, autobiography, memoir
historiographyhistory
Record of past events
historical events · historical narrative · primary sources · chronicle · annals
historiographyraw data
Unanalyzed collected information
primary documents · archives · artifacts · archaeological evidence · eyewitness testimony