New Perspectives on Historical Writing

The way in which history is written has changed quite dramatically
- so much so that the phrase ?the new history? is now commonly used
by historians. But what is the new history and how ?new? is it? Is
it a temporary fashion or a long-term trend? Will it - or should it
- replace traditional history, or can the two coexist in peace?

This second edition of New Perspectives on Historical Writing sets
out to answer these questions, examining the most exciting and
important developments in the methodology and practice of history.
Concentrating on some of the more recent movements, it sets out to
place these within the context of long-term changes in the writing
of history. Peter Burke is joined here by a distinguished group of
internationally renowned historians including Robert Darnton, Ivan
Gaskell, Richard Grove, Giovanni Levi, Roy Porter, Gwyn Prins, Joan
Scott, Jim Sharpe, Richard Tuck and Henk Wesseling. The
contributions examine a wide range of interdisciplinary areas of
historical research, including women?s history, history ?from
below?, the history of reading, oral history, the history of the
body, microhistory, the history of events, the ?new history?, the
history of images, political history and overseas history. This
volume has been thoroughly revised and updated for the second
edition, and includes an entirely new chapter on environmental
history.

New Perspectives on Historical Writing is a timely and important
account of the new approaches to the writing of history. It has
become a key reference work and is used by students and researchers
in a wide range of disciplines: history and historiography, women?s
studies, anthropology, sociology, politics and literature.