Experiments in Rethinking History

History is a narrative discourse full of unfinished stories. This collectionof innovative and experimental pieces of historical writing shows there arefascinati... » 

History is a narrative discourse full of unfinished stories. This collectionof innovative and experimental pieces of historical writing shows there arefascinating and important new ways of thinking and writing about the past. Thepieces illustrate the performative and fictive nature of history that point tonew ways of thinking about the past.Fourteen engaging and thoughtprovoking pieces lead the reader to a deeperunderstanding of some of the possible responses to the question What ishistory? and even suggest that this traditional question might be betterreplaced with a new question How shall I engage with the past today?. Thecollection includes subjects as diverse as a lynching in South Carolina thelife of an eighteenth century French Marquise and a journey to a string ofPacific islands. The pieces show what is possible in doing history anddemonstrate how other factors such as the impact of emotions the feeling ofotherness the confining character of boundaries authorial subjectivity andeven a sense of boredom with conventional ways of doing history intrude onhistorical practice.As well as being a compelling read the book includes a thorough twopartintroduction on theory and practice as well as further introductory matter atthe start of each section to allow the reader to engage fully with thetheoretical aspects of each part of the book. This book should be read by allthose with an interest in history and its theory. «