Microhistory
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Microhistoryis a genre ofhistorythat focuses on small units of research, such as an event, community, individual or a settlement. In its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simplecase studyinsofar as microhistory aspires to "[ask] large questions in small places", according to the definition given by Charles Joyner.[1]It is closely associated withsocialandcultural history.
Origins[edit]
Microhistory became popular in Italy in the 1970s.[2]According toGiovanni Levi,one of the pioneers of the approach, it began as a reaction to a perceived crisis in existing historiographical approaches.[3]Carlo Ginzburg,another of microhistory's founders, has written that he first heard the term used around 1977, and soon afterwards began to work with Levi andSimona CeruttionMicrostorie,a series of microhistorical works.[4]
The word "microhistory" dates back to 1959, when the American historianGeorge R. StewartpublishedPickett's Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack on Gettysburg, July 3, 1863,which tells the story of the final day of theBattle of Gettysburg.[5]Another early use was by theAnnaleshistorianFernand Braudel,for whom the concept had negative connotations, being overly concerned with the history of events.[6]A third early use of the term was in the title ofLuis González's 1968 workPueblo en vilo: Microhistoria de San José de Gracia.[6]González distinguished between microhistory, for him synonymous with local history, and "petite histoire",which is primarily concerned with anecdotes.[6]
Approach[edit]
The most distinctive aspect of the microhistorical approach is the small scale of investigations.[2]Microhistorians focus on small units in society, as a reaction to the generalisations made by the social sciences which do not necessarily hold up when tested against these smaller units.[7] For instance, Ginzburg's 1976 workThe Cheese and the Worms– "probably the most popular and widely read work of microhistory"[2]– investigates the life of a single sixteenth-century Italian miller,Menocchio.The individuals microhistorical works are concerned with are frequently those whom Richard M. Tristano describes as "little people", especially those considered heretics.[8]
Carlo Ginzburg has written that a core principle of microhistory is making obstacles in sources, such aslacunae,part of the historical account.[9]Relatedly, Levi has said that the point of view of the researcher becomes part of the account in microhistory.[10]Other notable aspects of microhistory as a historical approach are an interest in the interaction of elite and popular culture,[11]and an interest in the interaction between micro- and macro-levels of history.[12]
See also[edit]
Notable microhistorians[edit]
- Wolfgang Behringer
- Robert Bickers
- Jaroslav Čechura
- Simona Cerutti
- Alain Corbin
- John J. Curry
- Robert Darnton
- Natalie Zemon Davis
- Arie van Deursen
- Clifford Geertz
- Carlo Ginzburg
- Luis González y González
- Maurizio Gribaudi
- Craig Harline
- Cynthia A. Kierner
- Mark Kurlansky
- Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie
- Giovanni Levi
- Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon
- Luis Mott
- Sue Peabody
- Leslie Peirce
- Detlev Peukert
- Osvaldo Raggio
- Jacques Revel
- Guido Ruggiero
- David Sabean
- Mimi Sheller
- Carolyn Steedman
- Jonathan D. Spence
- Alan Taylor
- Stella Tillyard
- E. P. Thompson
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
- Alfred F. Young
Citations[edit]
- ^Joyner, Charles W. (1999).Shared Traditions: Southern History and Folk Culture.Urbana:University of Illinois.p. 1.ISBN9780252067723.
- ^abcTristano 1996,p. 26.
- ^Burke 1991,p. 93-94.
- ^Ginzburg, Tedeschi & Tedeschi 1993,p. 10.
- ^Ginzburg, Tedeschi & Tedeschi 1993,p. 11.
- ^abcGinzburg, Tedeschi & Tedeschi 1993,p. 12.
- ^Magnússon, Sigurdur Gylfi (2003). "'The Singularization of History': Social History and Microhistory within the Postmodern State of Knowledge ".Journal of Social History.36(3): 709.doi:10.1353/jsh.2003.0054.S2CID144942672.
- ^Tristano 1996,p. 26-27.
- ^Ginzburg, Tedeschi & Tedeschi 1993,p. 28.
- ^Burke 1991,p. 106.
- ^Tristano 1996,p. 28.
- ^Tristano 1996,p. 27.
General and cited references[edit]
- Burke, Peter(1991). "On Microhistory". In Levi, Giovanni (ed.).New Perspectives on Historical Writing.Cambridge:Polity Press.p. 254.ISBN9780271008271– viaGoogle Books.
- Ginzburg, Carlo;Tedeschi, John; Tedeschi, Anne C. (1993). "Microhistory: Two or Three Things That I Know about It".Critical Inquiry.20(1).The University of Chicago Press:10–35.doi:10.1086/448699.JSTOR1343946.S2CID197852979.
- Künzel, Geraldien von Frijtag Drabbe; Galimi, Valeria (2019)."Microcosms of the Holocaust: Exploring New Venues into Small-Scale Research of the Holocaust".Journal of Genocide Research.21(3): 335–341.doi:10.1080/14623528.2019.1631517.
- Tristano, Richard M. (1996). "Microhistory and Holy Family Parish: Some Historical Considerations".U.S. Catholic Historian.14(3: Parishes and Peoples: Religious and Social Meanings, Part Two).Catholic University of America Press:23–30.JSTOR25154561.
External links[edit]
- Microhistory—The website of the Center for Microhistorical Research at the Reykjavik Academy in Iceland
- "What Is Microhistory?",Sigurdur Gylfi Magnusson, chair of the Center for Microhistorical Research
- Microhistory Network—A group of historians interested in microhistory (2007–)