Historiography and Approach to categories it

Historiography and Approach to categorise it

There is always a confusion among the readers of history that what is historiography and what is the purpose of writing historiography on topics , and also categories of historiography. So this article will clear your doubts regarding the meaning of historiography ,it's purpose,how it is being categorised.

What is historiography?

While history is an effort on our part to understand what happened in the past, historiography is about how such efforts were made in the past by people who composed history either by word of mouth or in a written form. Thus historiography is the history of history writing.

It is obvious that every person has some sense of history in that he or she has a memory of what happened to him or her in the past . But when a person goes beyond that limited personal memory and tries to find out with deliberation what happened in the past of not only individuals but groups or communities or societies , that is an effort to compose history. In other words, Historiography is the study of how history is written and interpreted. It involves examining the methods, sources, and theories used by historians to understand the past. In simpler terms, historiography is about studying the ways in which different people and societies have recorded and understood history over time. It includes analyzing how different perspectives, biases, and political motivations may have influenced the way historical events are portrayed and interpreted.

How do we categories historiography 

There are different ways to categorize historiography, but one common approach is to divide it into three broad categories: 

1.Traditional/Classical Historiography: This category refers to the earliest forms of historical writing, which tended to focus on political and military events and prominent figures. It often relied on primary sources such as official documents and chronicles, and it aimed to provide a factual and objective account of past events.

2.Critical/Revisionist Historiography: This category emerged in the 20th century as historians began to question the assumptions and biases of traditional historiography. Revisionist historians often focus on social and cultural history, and they seek to uncover marginalized voices and alternative perspectives. They also tend to be more critical of the sources and narratives used in traditional historiography.

3.Postmodern/Deconstructionist Historiography: This category is associated with the postmodernist movement and its rejection of objective truth claims. Postmodern historians argue that historical accounts are always shaped by language, power, and ideology, and they aim to deconstruct and challenge dominant narratives. They may use unconventional sources such as literature, art, and oral histories, and they may focus on issues such as identity, gender, and race.

In my next article, I will cover - who is the founder of modern historiography?

Poorva Singh