Microhistory
Encyclopedia
Microhistory is the intensive historical
investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (most often a single event, the community of a village, a family or a person). In its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simple case study
insofar microhistory aspires to "search for answers to large questions in small places", to use the definition given by Charles Joyner.
The original idea of writing microhistory came from Italy
in the 1970s. Microstoria had a social history (Giovanni Levi: L’eredita immateriale. Carriere di un esorcista nel Piemonte del seicento. Einaudi: Torino, 1985.) and a cultural history (Carlo Ginzburg
: Il formaggio e i vermi. Einaudi: Torino, 1975.) wing. It had a significant impact on French and German historians in the 1980s and 1990s. Microhistory became then a popular approach and it produced classics in several languages (e.g., Natalie Zemon Davis
: The Return of Martin Guerre. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Mass., 1983.). It can be seen as part of cultural history together with the histoire des mentalités of the French Annales School
, the German Alltagsgeschichte
, or historical anthropology. It is especially close to the latter, with the important difference that it, especially its original Italian version, puts a great stress on the agency of historical actors and is therefore unwilling to see culture as a determining force.
:Category:Microhistorians
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (most often a single event, the community of a village, a family or a person). In its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simple case study
Case study
A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find...
insofar microhistory aspires to "search for answers to large questions in small places", to use the definition given by Charles Joyner.
The original idea of writing microhistory came from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in the 1970s. Microstoria had a social history (Giovanni Levi: L’eredita immateriale. Carriere di un esorcista nel Piemonte del seicento. Einaudi: Torino, 1985.) and a cultural history (Carlo Ginzburg
Carlo Ginzburg
Carlo Ginzburg is a noted historian and proponent of the field of microhistory. He is best known for his Il formaggio e I vermi which examined the beliefs of an Italian heretic, Menocchio, from Montereale Valcellina.- Biography :The son of Natalia Ginzburg and Leone Ginzburg, he was born...
: Il formaggio e i vermi. Einaudi: Torino, 1975.) wing. It had a significant impact on French and German historians in the 1980s and 1990s. Microhistory became then a popular approach and it produced classics in several languages (e.g., Natalie Zemon Davis
Natalie Zemon Davis
Natalie Zemon Davis is a Canadian and American historian of the early modern period. She is currently a professor of history at the University of Toronto in Canada. Her work originally focused on France, but has since broadened to include other parts of Europe, North America, and the Caribbean...
: The Return of Martin Guerre. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Mass., 1983.). It can be seen as part of cultural history together with the histoire des mentalités of the French Annales School
Annales School
The Annales School is a group of historians associated with a style of historiography developed by French historians in the 20th century. It is named after its scholarly journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale, which remains the main source of scholarship, along with many books and...
, the German Alltagsgeschichte
Alltagsgeschichte
Alltagsgeschichte is a form of microhistory that was particularly prevalent amongst German historians during the 1980s. It was founded by historians Alf Luedtke and Hans Medick....
, or historical anthropology. It is especially close to the latter, with the important difference that it, especially its original Italian version, puts a great stress on the agency of historical actors and is therefore unwilling to see culture as a determining force.
List of microhistorians
- Wolfgang Behringer
- Simona Cerutti
- Alain CorbinAlain CorbinAlain Corbin is a French historian, specialist of the 19th century in France.Trained in the Annales School, Corbin's work has moved away from the large-scale collective structures studied by Fernand Braudel towards a history of sensibilities which is closer to Lucien Febvre's history of mentalités...
- Robert DarntonRobert DarntonRobert Darnton is an American cultural historian, recognized as a leading expert on 18th-century France.-Life:He graduated from Harvard University in 1960, attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship, and earned a Ph.D. in history from Oxford in 1964, where he studied with Richard Cobb,...
- Natalie Zemon DavisNatalie Zemon DavisNatalie Zemon Davis is a Canadian and American historian of the early modern period. She is currently a professor of history at the University of Toronto in Canada. Her work originally focused on France, but has since broadened to include other parts of Europe, North America, and the Caribbean...
- Theo van Deursen
- Clifford GeertzClifford GeertzClifford James Geertz was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology, and who was considered "for three decades...the single most influential cultural anthropologist in the United States." He served until...
- Carlo GinzburgCarlo GinzburgCarlo Ginzburg is a noted historian and proponent of the field of microhistory. He is best known for his Il formaggio e I vermi which examined the beliefs of an Italian heretic, Menocchio, from Montereale Valcellina.- Biography :The son of Natalia Ginzburg and Leone Ginzburg, he was born...
- Luis Gonzalez y Gonzalez
- Craig Harline
- Cynthia A. Kierner
- Mark KurlanskyMark KurlanskyMark Kurlansky is an American journalist and writer of general interest non-fiction. He is especially known for titles on eclectic topics, such as cod or salt....
- Emmanuel Le Roy LadurieEmmanuel Le Roy LadurieEmmanuel Le Roy Ladurie is a French historian whose work is mainly focused upon Languedoc in the ancien regime, particularly the history of the peasantry.-Early life and career:...
- Giovanni Levi
- Sigurður Gylfi MagnússonSigurður Gylfi MagnússonSigurður Gylfi Magnússon is an Icelandic historian specialising in microhistory. He has been an independent scholar for most of his career. He established the Center for Microhistorical Research at the Reykjavík Academy in 2003...
- Luis Mott
- Detlev PeukertDetlev PeukertDetlev Peukert was a German historian, noted for his studies of the relationship between what he called the "spirit of science" and the Holocaust and in social history and the Weimar Republic. Peukert taught modern history at the University of Essen and served as director of the Research Institute...
- Osvaldo Raggio
- Jacques Revel
- Guido RuggieroGuido RuggieroGuido Ruggiero is a notable microhistorian and professor and chair of the University of Miami History Department. His most notable work is Binding Passions: Tales of Magic, Marriage and Power from the End of the Renaissance which discusses tales of witchcraft and love magic in early modern...
- David Sabean
- Mimi ShellerMimi ShellerMimi Sheller is a professor of sociology and the founding Director of the New Mobilities Research and Policy Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She attended Harvard University where she earned an A.B in History and Literature in 1988. She received an M.A. in Sociology and Historical...
- Jonathan D. Spence
- Alan Taylor
- Stella TillyardStella TillyardStella Tillyard is a British author and historian born in 1957, best known for the best-selling Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832 which was made into a BBC Miniseries in 1999.-From academic to novelist:...
- Alfred F. Young
- Carolyn Steedman
- Laurel Thatcher UlrichLaurel Thatcher UlrichLaurel Thatcher Ulrich , is a historian of early America and the history of women and a university professor at Harvard University...
See also
- AlltagsgeschichteAlltagsgeschichteAlltagsgeschichte is a form of microhistory that was particularly prevalent amongst German historians during the 1980s. It was founded by historians Alf Luedtke and Hans Medick....
- History from belowHistory From BelowHistory From Below is the follow-up album to 2008's critically acclaimed Ode to Sunshine by San Diego's Delta Spirit. The album was released on June 8, 2010.The band began streaming "White Table" on its website, http://www.deltaspirit.net, on May 6....
- Scottish Rural Life, History Dictionary
:Category:Microhistorians
External links
- Microhistory - The website of the Center for Microhistorical Research at the Reykjavik Academy in Iceland.
- Interesting article on microhistory by the chair of the Center for Microhistorical Research at the Reykjavik Academy
- Microhistory Network A group of historians interested in microhistory (2007-)
- Bibliography of microhistorical works: http://www.microhistory.org/bibliography.php
- Journal of Microhistory: http://www.microhistory.org/journal2009.php