Talk:Historian
From Academic Kids
Actually thinking about why I am an, albeit amateur, historian is very interesting. I think we might have some nice additions under Wikipedia commentary from the historians among us which quantify the whys and wherefores of being a historian. I'm starting to write mine already... sjc
I am not at all sure anyone wants to know what historians are like ; ) MichaelTinkler
I think the list should have been left here. It's not much of an article without it :-)
--- The separation of historian from History is not going to result in more or better information for a reader. Is carpenter sensibly removed from carpentry? Wetman 07:06, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)
The "neutrality" bit is fishy... the idea of trying to be a neutral observer/give a neutral version of events is very much in dispute within the profession, many historians disavow it outright.
Removed cleanup tags, as I think the article is in plain English now.
However, the following discusses the academic discipline of history more than the Historian's job, and I propose it be moved to a different article (perhaps history). Avocado 00:47, Apr 6, 2005 (UTC)
- Since the 1960s the academic discipline has undergone multiple revolutions in which the number of areas commonly recognized as worthy of historical analysis in academia have increased enormously. Whereas previously western history had often focused on the history of great men, wars, diplomacy, large ideas/science, and politics, from the 1960s onward topics such as popular culture, mass culture, and the lives of ordinary people.
- Historians have also begun to investigate histories of ideas surrounding various categories of people, such as women, racial minorities, or disabled people (for instance, a historian might study the construction of ideas about disabled people, and the results thereof, perhaps in a specific historical setting, such as Nazi Germany).
- There is currently a great deal of controversy within the western academic discipline of history regarding the possibility and desirability of neutrality in historical scholarship.
