The Degradation Of American History

The Degradation of American History

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 was: 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 From Library Journal The profession of history is in crisis in a postmodern world of multiple perspectives and information overkill, argues Harlan (history, California Polytechnic Univ., San Luis Obispo): "The earlier idea of American history as a great conversation [has] all but disappeared, replaced by tightly focused and rigorously contextualized minihistories." Analyzing the failure of historians' attempts, from 1960 on, to come to grips with the problem of "objectivity," he exhorts us instead to use the past to "enrich...and critique our troubled and confusing present." Harlan's concern with emotional and ethical involvement in the historical text leads him to slight the virtue of reading in context, but this is an acceptable failing in an otherwise wholly admirable work. This book will be talked about for years. Recommended for public and academic libraries.?David Keymer, California State Univ., StanislausCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.