The Engaged Historian: Perspectives on the Intersections of Politics, Activism and the Historical Profession (Making Sense of History Book 37)

On the surface, historical scholarship might seem thoroughly incompatible with political engagement: the ideal historian, many imagine, is a disinterested observer focused exclusively on the past. In truth, however, political action and historical research have been deeply intertwined for as long as the historical profession has existed. In this insightful collection, practicing historians analyze, reflect on, and share their experiences of this complex relationship. From the influence of historical scholarship on world political leaders to the present-day participation of researchers in post-conflict societies and the Occupy movement, these studies afford distinctive, humane, and stimulating views on historical practice and practitioners.. Contents INTRODUCTION Historical Writing and Civic Engagement: A Symbiotic Relationship CHAPTER 1 Engagement: Metahistorical Considerations on a Disputed Attitude in Historical Studies CHAPTER 2 The Ideal of Justice and Its Significance for Historians as Engaged Intellectuals CHAPTER 3 Committed Writing: History and Narrative Communication Revisited Chapter 4 The Historian-King: Political Leaders, Historical Consciousness and Wise Government CHAPTER 5 Historians with a Cause: Refugees’ Memory and Historical Practices in Interwar Greece CHAPTER 6 The Making of the Zhanguo Ce Clique: The Politicization of History Knowledge in Wartime China CHAPTER 7 The Historicization of World War II in Greece after the Civil War: Looking Back on the Public Debate over a Lecture by British Historian C.M. Woodhouse CHAPTER 8 Historians as Dissidents: Intellectual ‘Eros’ in Action CHAPTER 9 The Social Movement History as a Social Movement in and of Itself CHAPTER 10 Professional Historical Writing and Human Rights Engagement in the Twenty-First Century: Innovative Approaches and Their Dilemmas CHAPTER 11 Using the Past The Brazilian Cinema between Censorship and Representation CHAPTER 12 Historians and the Trauma of the Past: The Destruction of Security Files on Citizens in Greece, 1989 CHAPTER 13 Historians and/in the New Media CHAPTER 14 Street History Coming to Terms with the Past in Occupy Movements AFTERWORD The Historian as an Engaged Intellectual: Historical Writing and Social Criticism – A Personal Retrospective Index Political action and historical research have been deeply intertwined for nearly as long as the historical profession has existed. In this insightful collection, practicing historians analyze, reflect on, and share their experiences of this complex relationship. Edited By Stefan Berger. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.