248 Pages
by Routledge

248 Pages
by Routledge

248 Pages
by Routledge

Why History is an introduction to the issue of history and ethics. Designed to provoke discussion, the book asks whether a good knowledge and understanding of the past is a good thing to have and if so, why. In the context of postmodern times, Why History suggests that the goal of 'learning lessons from the past' is actually learning lessons from stories written by historians and others. If... Read more
Introduction; Part 1 On the end of metanarratives; Chapter 1 On Jacques Derrida; Chapter 2 On Jean Baudrillard; Chapter 3 On Jean-François Lyotard; Part 2 On the end of ‘proper’ history; Chapter 4 On Richard Evans; Chapter 5 On Hayden White; Chapter 6 On Frank Ankersmit; Part 3 Beyond histories and ethics; Chapter 7 On Elizabeth Deeds Ermarth; Chapter 8 On David Harlan; Conclusion;

Biography

Keith Jenkins is Reader in History at University College Chichester and author of Rethinking History (1991), On ‘What is History?’ From Carr and Elton to Rorty and White (1995) and The Postmodern History Reader (1997).

'This is Jenkinss best book to date and should be read by anybody who wants to understand postmodernist attitudes to history.' - Christopher Parker, Literature and History Journal, Vol. 10, no.1