The Degradation of American History

by David Harlan

American historical writing has traditionally been one of our primary forms of moral reflection. However, David Harlan argues that in the disillusionment following the 1960s, history abandoned its redemptive potential and took up the methodology of the social sciences. In this provocative new book, Harlan describes the reasons for this turn to objectivity and professionalism, explains why it failed, and examines the emergence of a New Traditionalism in American historical writing.

Part One, "The Legacy of the Sixties," describes the impact of literary theory in the 1970s and beyond, the rise of women's history, the various forms of ideological analysis developed by historians on the left, and the crippling obsession with professionalism in the 1980s. Part Two, "The Renewal of American Historical Writing," focuses on the contributions of John Patrick Diggins, Hayden White, Richard Rorty, Elaine Showalter, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and others. Harlan argues that at the end of the twentieth century American historical writing is perfectly poised to become what it once not one of the social sciences in historical costume, but a form of moral reflection that speaks to all Americans.

"[A] wholly admirable work. This book will be talked about for years."— Library Journal

Genres: History

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite recently-read book on historiography. A favorite quote: "A sense of the past is a way of being in the present. At its best it is a way of arguing with ourselves, a means of rethinkinig who we might become by rethinking who we once were." Yes, that's exactly why I love history.

[Gv · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read only the introduction and the to chapters about the essay I am writing. Could not get myself to read anything more, because of the pamphlet-style of the writer as well as his ideas, simply to opposed to mine and, from what I could read, not really enlightening: book about the evils of postmodernism and history for its own sake.