Narrative and History
Description
Based on the assumption that reality, reference and representation work together, this introductory textbook explains and illustrates the various ways in which historians write the past as history. For the first time, the full range of leading narrative theorists such as Paul Ricoeur, Hayden White, Frank Ankersmit, Seymour Chatman and Gérard Genette have been brought together to explain the narrative-making choices all author-historians make when creating historical explanations. Combining theory with practice, Alun Munslow expands the boundaries of the discipline and charts a new role for unconventional historical forms and modes of expression.
Clear but comprehensive, this is an ideal resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses on History and Theory, History and Method, and Historiography.
Reviews / Votes
This update has further enhanced what has always been a key text for specialist and non-specialist students of history. The structure and content, most especially the glossary, make it an essential read and I cannot recommend it too highly. * Dave Day, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK * Narrative and History provides an excellent introduction to some seminal debates in the study of the past. Updated to include sections on how the past is mediated in the contemporary world, it will be a valuable resource for students across a range of disciplines. * David Archibald, University of Glasgow, UK * Alun Munslow lucidly explains how the poetics of historical writing confers meanings on the past, rather than proclaims truths about it-showing, in other words, why it is through history's narrative mastery that the past becomes real in the reader's imagination. * Benjamin Brown, University of Sydney, Australia *More details
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Content
Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- Narrating the Past.- History as Content/Story.- Narrating and Narration.- History as Expression.- The Past, the Facts and History.- Understanding [in] History.- The Oar in Water.- Conclusion.- Glossary.- Notes.- Further Reading.- Index.