What is historiography? asked the American historian Carl Becker in 1938 and professional historians continue to argue over the meaning of the term. This book challenges the view of historiography as an esoteric subject by presenting an accessible and concise overview of the history of historical writing from the Renaissance to the present, focusing primarily on the US and Europe. Historiography plays an integral role in aiding undergraduate students to better understand the nature and purpose of historical analysis more generally by examining the many conflicting ways that historians have def.

Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1; Art and Science? in Renaissance and Early Modern Historical Writing; 2; Enlightenment and Philosophical History; 3; Romantic and Critical History; 4; Scientific History and Its Challengers; 5; Social History, Fragmentation, and the Revival of Narrative; 6; History and Historiography in Global Perspective; Notes; Appendix; Suggestions for Further Reading; Bibliography; Index.