Fear of theory : towards a new theoretical justification of biography

In historiography, many interesting theoretical perspectives on biography have emerged in recent years, from forensics to structure and microhistory. Biographers themselves, though, often fear the study of the genre - needlessly, as these eighteen engaging new essays demonstrate. Recent academic historiography has seen a profusion of theoretical perspectives on biography, both analytical and descriptive. Yet many biographers still fear ‘theory’ as antithetical to accessible narration of real lives. This volume presents eighteen essays by more than a dozen scholars and practitioners from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, and the United States who seek to banish such fear. Writing with candor, wide experience and familiarity with modern teaching, they examine the riches greeting the biographer willing to think more deeply about biography: its inner workings and rationale in a world still hungry for fact and truth. Contributors are: Nigel Hamilton, Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon, Emma McEwin, Melanie Nolan, Kerstin Maria Pahl, Eric Palmen, Hans Renders, Carl Rollyson, David T. Roth, István M. Szijártó, Jeffrey Tyssens, and David Veltman. Contents Notes on Contributors Foreword Part 1: Reflections on Theory and Biography The Deep-Rooted Fear of Theory among Biographers The Missing Key: Theorizing Modern Historical Biography `Have They Caught the Cambridge Structuralist Yet?' Biography Writing and the Fear of Theory Biography and Emotional Practice The Great Individual in History: Historicising Historians' Biographical Practice The Backside of the Biography: Microhistory as a Research Tool Part 2: Biographers at Work Beyond Verification and Falsification: Biography as Go-Between of Historical Truth History That Addresses Biography: Ethics and the Vatican Brief Lives: A Microhistorical Approach `Une génération spontanée': Kandinsky Seen through the Eyes of Felix de Boeck (1898–1995) Template for a Biography: What's the Sense of Theory Building a Better Biography Capturing the Subject: Virginia Woolf's Battle with Biographical Boundaries Part 3: Dossier on Microhistory The Representativeness of a Reputation: A `Third Wave' in Microhistory The Devil Is in the Detail: What Is a `Great Historical Question'? Arguments for Microhistory 2.0 Exceptions That Prove the Rule: Biography, Microhistory and Marginals Bibliography Index "Recent academic historiography has seen a profusion of theoretical perspectives on biography, both analytical and descriptive. Yet many biographers still fear 'theory' as antithetical to accessible narration of real lives. This volume presents eighteen essays by more than a dozen scholars and practitioners from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, and the United States who seek to banish such fear. Writing with candor, wide experience and familiarity with modern teaching, they examine the riches greeting the biographer willing to think more deeply about biography: its inner workings and rationale in a world still hungry for fact and truth. Contributors are: Nigel Hamilton, Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon, Emma McEwin, Melanie Nolan, Kerstin Maria Pahl, Eric Palmen, Hans Renders, Carl Rollyson, David T. Roth, István M. Szijártó, Jeffrey Tyssens, and David Veltman"-- Provided by publisher.