Modern History and the Major Historiographic Sub-Categories
History is the cumulative study of mankind’s past. Human history is the sum of human experience, from the earliest recorded history to the present day. Events prior to the invention of written languages are often viewed as prehistorical. ” Histor” is derived from a Greek word, “historia”, which means history.” Libraries” are places where one can research into the history of a particular region or period of time.
The discipline of history is a great subject to pursue for students interested in history, because it offers a rich variety of fields for their studies. Two major directions in history are academic and political. Academic historians specialize in presenting and interpreting quantitative information about historical events. On the other hand, political scientists concentrate on analyzing political events and figures as they affect society at large. These two major directions overlap significantly.
Academic historians typically seek objective accounts of historical events. This usually makes them historians of specific social sciences like history of medicine, history of law, or history of technology. Many modern historians have contributed to the field of history by producing historical novels. However, some historians refuse to accept the challenge of being objective, saying that there is too much falsified and padded history out there. Historians such as Elbert Hubbard, Arnold Bennett, Richard Barrow, W. E. Bryson, Edward Gibbons, and Pvt. Mulraine deserve special mention for their important contributions to the field of history.
There are many types of historians who have made important contributions to the field of history. Two types of historians are literary and layman. Literary historians, like Edward Gibbons, write about events and people through the written word, while layman historians write about historical subjects through non-oral historical methods. There are three sub-fields of literary historians: academic critics, political scientists, and historians of American popular culture.
The most prominent among these three sub-fields is biography. Biography is the investigation of a person’s life by writing about his/her experiences. It can be done through documentary research, personal interviewing, literary or fictional writing, or other known methods. The most prominent among all biographies produced by historians are those which focus on personalities, such as that of President Obama. Other books have been written about the life of John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, and King George VI.
Social scientists are also among the most prominent types of historians. They are mainly concerned with the development of institutions and society, especially in comparison with other fields. They specialize in particular areas of historical study, such as race, culture, economic, and political development. Some of the most prominent social scientists of the 20th century include Wagell, Clark, Seward, Frick, Frack, Rose, Smith, Sampling, Wedderburn, Kumar, and others.