Social history: Difference between revisions

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
imported>Richard Jensen
(tweaks)
mNo edit summary
 
(10 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Social History''' is a branch of [[History]] that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life, history of social organization, and history of social movements and deliberate attempts to induce social change, whether from the top down or from the bottom up. It exploded on the scene in the 1960s, quickly becoming one of the dominant styles of historiography.  The French version, promulgated by the [[Annales School]] influenced much of Europe and Latin America.   
{{Subpages}}
{{TOC|right}}
'''Social [[history]]''', often called the '''new social history,''' includes the history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life; history of social organization; and history of social movements and deliberate attempts to induce social change, whether from the top down or from the bottom up. Before the 1960s social history meant either the history of social movements, such as the [[Populist party]], or the study of everyday life. The latter was a minor topic in history largely ignore by professionals. The "new social history" exploded on the scene in the 1960s, quickly becoming one of the dominant styles of historiography in the U.S., Britain and Canada.  The French version, promulgated by the [[Annales School]], was very well organizaed and dominated French historiography, and influenced much of Europe and Latin America.  After 1990 it was increasingly challenged by cultural history, which emphasizes language and the importance of beliefs and assumptions and their causal role in group behavior.<ref>Lynn Hunt and Victoria Bonnell, eds., ''Beyond the Cultural Turn'' (1999).  </ref>


The study of the lives of ordinary people was revolutionized in the 1960s by the introduction of sophisticated quantitative and demographic methods, often using individual data from the census and from local registers of births, marriages, deaths and taxes, as well as theoretical models from sociology such as social mobility.  The '''New Social History''' emerged in the 1960s to dominate professional scholarship in the U.S.
The study of the lives of ordinary people was revolutionized in the 1960s by the introduction of sophisticated quantitative and demographic methods, often using individual data from the census and from local registers of births, marriages, deaths and taxes, as well as theoretical models from sociology such as social mobility.   


see also [[Social History, U.S.]].   
see also [[Social History, U.S.]].   
Line 10: Line 12:
[[Demographic history]] is the study of population history and demographic processes, usually using census or similar statistical data. It became an important specialty inside social history, with strong connections with the larger field of demography. See [[Demography]], [U.S. Demographic Transition]]  
[[Demographic history]] is the study of population history and demographic processes, usually using census or similar statistical data. It became an important specialty inside social history, with strong connections with the larger field of demography. See [[Demography]], [U.S. Demographic Transition]]  
[[U.S. Demographic History]], [[Fertility (demography)]], [[Mortality (demography)]], [[Infant mortality]] and [[Life expectancy]]
[[U.S. Demographic History]], [[Fertility (demography)]], [[Mortality (demography)]], [[Infant mortality]] and [[Life expectancy]]
===Modernization theory===
Modernization theory has been controvbersial in social history. It is widely used and accepted in demographic history, and has been heavily promoted by the Bielefield School in Germany. However younger American scholars were hostile, since it seemed too politically conservative for their tastes.<ref> Chris Lorenz, "'Won't You Tell Me, Where Have All the Good Times Gone'? On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Modernization Theory for History." ''Rethinking History'' 2006 10(2): 171-200. Issn: 1364-2529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
</ref>
===Ethnic history===
===Ethnic history===
[[Ethnic history]] covers the history of American ethnic groups (usually not including blacks). The Immigration and Ethnic History Society was formed in 1976 and publishes a journal for libraries and its 829 members.<ref> See [http://www.historians.org/affiliates/immigration_ethnic_his_soc.htm Immigration and Ethnic History Society ]</ref>
[[Ethnic history]] covers the history of American ethnic groups (usually not including blacks). The Immigration and Ethnic History Society was formed in 1976 and publishes a journal for libraries and its 829 members.<ref> See [http://www.historians.org/affiliates/immigration_ethnic_his_soc.htm Immigration and Ethnic History Society ]</ref>
Line 15: Line 20:
* The American Italian Historical Association was founded in 1966 and has 400 members; it does not publish a journal <ref> See [http://www.aihaweb.org/ American Italian Historical Association ]</ref>
* The American Italian Historical Association was founded in 1966 and has 400 members; it does not publish a journal <ref> See [http://www.aihaweb.org/ American Italian Historical Association ]</ref>
*The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest ethnic society, founded in 1892; it has 3,300 members and publishes ''American Jewish History''<ref> See [http://www.ajhs.org American Jewish Historical Society] and [http://www.ajhs.org/academic/history.cfm journal]</ref>
*The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest ethnic society, founded in 1892; it has 3,300 members and publishes ''American Jewish History''<ref> See [http://www.ajhs.org American Jewish Historical Society] and [http://www.ajhs.org/academic/history.cfm journal]</ref>
===African American history===
===African-American history===
[[African American history]] studies blacks in the United States. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History was founded by Carter G, Woodson in 1915 and has 2500 members and publishes the ''Journal of African American History;'' since 1926 it has sponsored Black History Month every Febriary.<ref> See [http://www.asalh.org/ ASALH]</ref>
[[African-American history]] studies blacks in the United States. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History was founded by Carter G, Woodson in 1915 and has 2500 members and publishes the ''Journal of African American History;'' since 1926 it has sponsored Black History Month every Febriary.<ref> See [http://www.asalh.org/ ASALH]</ref>
===Labor history===
===Labor history===
[[Labor history]], deals with labor unions and the social history of workers. See for example [[Labor Unions, U.S., History]]  The Study Group on International Labor and Working-Class History was established: 1971 and has a membership of 1000.  It publishes ''International Labor and Working-Class History''.<ref> See [http://www.newschool.edu/gf/history/ilwch/ Study Group on International Labor and Working-Class History ]</ref>
[[Labor history]], deals with labor unions and the social history of workers. See for example [[Labor Unions, U.S., History]]  The Study Group on International Labor and Working-Class History was established: 1971 and has a membership of 1000.  It publishes ''International Labor and Working-Class History''.<ref> See [http://www.newschool.edu/gf/history/ilwch/ Study Group on International Labor and Working-Class History ]</ref>
Line 23: Line 28:
[[Women's history]] exploded into prominence in the 1970s,<ref> See [http://www.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women.html American Women's History: A Research Guide]</ref> and is now well represeneted in every geographical topic; increasingly it includes gender history.<ref>see [http://www.amazon.com/Companion-Gender-History-Blackwell-Companions/dp/1405149604/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203919125&sr=8-1  Teresa A. Meade and Merry Wiesner-Hanks, eds. ''A Companion to Gender History'' (2006)]</ref>  
[[Women's history]] exploded into prominence in the 1970s,<ref> See [http://www.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women.html American Women's History: A Research Guide]</ref> and is now well represeneted in every geographical topic; increasingly it includes gender history.<ref>see [http://www.amazon.com/Companion-Gender-History-Blackwell-Companions/dp/1405149604/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203919125&sr=8-1  Teresa A. Meade and Merry Wiesner-Hanks, eds. ''A Companion to Gender History'' (2006)]</ref>  
===Family history===
===Family history===
[[Family history]] emerged as a separate field in the 1970s.<ref> see [http://jfh.sagepub.com/ ''Journal of Family History'', quarterly since 1976]</ref>
[[Family history]] emerged as a separate field in the 1970s.<ref> see [http://jfh.sagepub.com/ ''Journal of Family History'', quarterly since 1976]</ref> The history of childhood is a subfield.<ref>Peter N. Stearns, "Social History and World History: Prospects for Collaboration." ''Journal of World History'' 2007 18(1): 43-52. Issn: 1045-6007 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]]  and [[Project Muse]], deals with the history of childhood worldwide. See Peter N. Stearns, ''Childhood in World History'' (2005), A.R. Colon with P. A. Colon, ''A History of Children: A Socio-Cultural Survey across Millennia'' (2001), and Steven Mintz, ''Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood'' (2006). </ref>
===France===
==Rural history==
[[Agricultural history]] handles the economic and technological dimensions, while [[Rural history]] handles the social dimension.  Burchardt (2007) evaluates the state of modern English rural history and identifies an "orthodox" school, focused on the economic history of agriculture. This historiography has made impressive progress in quantifying and explaining the output and productivity achievements of English farming since the "agricultural revolution."<ref> On British rural history see Jeremy Burchardt, "Agricultural History, Rural History, or Countryside History?"  ''Historical Journal'' 2007 50(2): 465-481. Issn: 0018-246x </ref> The celebratory style of the orthodox school was challenged by a dissident tradition emphasizing the social costs of agricultural progress, notably enclosure, which forced poor tenant farmers off the land. Recently, a new school, associated with the journal ''Rural History,'' has broken away from this narrative of agricultural change, elaborating a wider social history. The work of Alun Howkins has been pivotal in the recent historiography, in relation to these three traditions.<ref>  Alun Howkins, ''The Death Rural England'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Death-Rural-England-Alun-Howkins/dp/041513885X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208495548&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search] </ref> Howkins, like his precursors, is constrained by an increasingly anachronistic equation of the countryside with agriculture. Geographers and sociologists have developed a concept of a "post-productivist" countryside, dominated by consumption and representation that may have something to offer historians, in conjunction with the well-established historiography of the "rural idyll."
===France===
see [[Annales School]]
see [[Annales School]]
===Germany===
===Germany===
Social history developed within West German historiography during the 1950's-60's as the successor to the national history discredited by [[National Socialism]].  The German brand of "history of society" - ''Gesellschaftsgeschichte'' - has been known from its beginning in the 1960s for its application of sociological and political modernization theories to German history. Modernization theory was presented by Hans-Ulrich Wehter (1931- ) in particular as the way to transform "traditional" German history, that is, national political history, centered on a few "great men," into an integrated and comparative history of German society encompassing societal structures outside politics. Wehler drew upon the modernization theory of Max Weber, with concepts also from Karl Marx, Otto Hintze, Gustav Schmoller, Werner Sombart and Thorstein Veblen.<ref> Roger Fletcher,  "Recent Developments in West German Historiography: the Bielefeld School and its Critics." ''German Studies Review'' 1984 7(3): 451-480. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0149-7952(198410)7%3A3%3C451%3ARDIWGH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E in Jstor]]</ref>
Social history developed within West German historiography during the 1950's-60's as the successor to the national history discredited by National Socialism.  The German brand of "history of society" - ''Gesellschaftsgeschichte'' - has been known from its beginning in the 1960s for its application of sociological and political modernization theories to German history. Modernization theory was presented by [[Hans-Ulrich Wehler]] (1931- ) and his Bielefeld School as the way to transform "traditional" German history, that is, national political history, centered on a few "great men," into an integrated and comparative history of German society encompassing societal structures outside politics. Wehler drew upon the modernization theory of Max Weber, with concepts also from Karl Marx, Otto Hintze, Gustav Schmoller, Werner Sombart and Thorstein Veblen.<ref> Roger Fletcher,  "Recent Developments in West German Historiography: the Bielefeld School and its Critics." ''German Studies Review'' 1984 7(3): 451-480. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0149-7952(198410)7%3A3%3C451%3ARDIWGH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E in Jstor]]</ref>  
 
Hans-Ulrich Wehler's ''Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte,'' (1987- ) is a comprehensive 5-volume history of German society in the 18th-20th centuries. Each volume approaches historical processes from a social history perspective, organized under the themes of demographics, economics, and social equality.  His detailed structural analysis of developmental processes supported by a vast body of notes and statistics sometimes obscures the larger context. Nonetheless, patterns of continuity and change in the social fabric are emphasized.  More than a historiographical synthesis of Ranke and Marx (envisioned by some German historians after the catastrophe of World War I), Wehler's work incorporates [[Max Weber]]'s concepts of authority, economy, and culture and strives toward a concept of "total history."  Volumes 1-2 cover the period from feudalism through the Revolution of 1848.<ref>See Jonathan Sperber, "Master Narratives of Nineteenth-century German History." ''Central European History'' 1991 24(1): 69-91. Issn: 0008-9389 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] and T. C. W. Blanning, "The French Revolution and the Modernization of Germany." ''Central European History'' 1989 22(2): 109-129. Issn: 0008-9389 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref> Volume 3 ''Von der "Deutschen Doppelrevolution" bis zum Beginn des Ersten Weltkrieges 1849-1914'' (1995) employs Wehler's longtime emphasis on a German Sonderweg or "special path" as the root of Nazism and the German catastrophe in the 20th century. Wehler places the origins of Germany's path to disaster in the 1860s-1870s, when economic modernization took place, but political modernization did not happen and the old Prussian rural elite remained in firm control of the army, diplomacy and the civil service.  Traditional, aristocratic, premodern society battled an emerging capitalist, bourgeois, modernizing society. Recognizing the importance of modernizing forces in industry and the economy and in the cultural realm, Wehler argues that reactionary traditionalism dominated the political hierarchy of power in Germany, as well as social mentalities and in class relations (Klassenhabitus).<ref> See Chris Lorenz, "Beyond Good and Evil? The German Empire of 1871 and Modern German Historiography." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' 1995 30(4): 729-765. [http://www.jstor.org/pss/261090 in Jstor] </ref>  Wehler's ''Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte: Vom Beginn des Ersten Weltkrieges bis zur Gründung der Beiden Deutschen Staaten 1914-1949'' (2003) is the fourth volume of his monumental history of German society.  The catastrophic German politics between 1914 and 1945 are interpreted in terms of a delayed modernization of its political structures. At the core of Wehler's fourth volume is his treatment of "the middle class" and "revolution," each of which was instrumental in shaping the 20th century. Wehler's examination of Nazi rule is shaped by his concept of "charismatic domination," which focuses heavily on Adolf Hitler.  The fifth volume will extend to 1990; none of the series has yet been translated into English.<ref> A partial summary appears in Hans-Ulrich Wehler, ''The German Empire, 1871-1918'' (1997) [http://www.amazon.com/German-Empire-1871-1918-Hans-Ulrich-Wehler/dp/090758232X/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product excerpt and text search]; see also Hans-Ulrich Wehler, "A Guide to Future Research on the Kaiserreich?" ''Central European History'' 1996 29(4): 541-572. Issn: 0008-9389 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>


In the 1970s and early 1980s German historians of society, led by Wehler and Jürgen Kocka at the "Bielefeld school"  gained dominance in Germany by applying both modernization theories and social science methods. From the 1980s, however, they were increasingly criticized by proponents of the "cultural turn" for not incorporating culture in the history of society, for reducing politics to society, and for reducing individuals to structures. Historians of society inverted the traditional positions they criticized (on the model of Marx's inversion of Hegel). As a result, the problems pertaining to the positions criticized were not resolved but only turned on their heads. The traditional focus on individuals was inverted into a modern focus on structures, the traditional focus on culture was inverted into a modern focus on structures, and traditional emphatic understanding was inverted into modern causal explanation.<ref> Chris Lorenz, "'Won't You Tell Me, Where Have All the Good Times Gone'? On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Modernization Theory for History." ''Rethinking History'' 2006 10(2): 171-200. Issn: 1364-2529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>
In the 1970s and early 1980s German historians of society, led by Wehler and Jürgen Kocka at the "Bielefeld school"  gained dominance in Germany by applying both modernization theories and social science methods. From the 1980s, however, they were increasingly criticized by proponents of the "cultural turn" for not incorporating culture in the history of society, for reducing politics to society, and for reducing individuals to structures. Historians of society inverted the traditional positions they criticized (on the model of Marx's inversion of Hegel). As a result, the problems pertaining to the positions criticized were not resolved but only turned on their heads. The traditional focus on individuals was inverted into a modern focus on structures, the traditional focus on culture was inverted into a modern focus on structures, and traditional emphatic understanding was inverted into modern causal explanation.<ref> Chris Lorenz, "'Won't You Tell Me, Where Have All the Good Times Gone'? On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Modernization Theory for History." ''Rethinking History'' 2006 10(2): 171-200. Issn: 1364-2529 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>
==Further reading==
For a more detailed guide see the Bibliography subpage


 
* Binder, Frederick M. and David M. Reimers, eds. ''The Way We Lived: Essays and Documents in American Social History.'' (2000). 313 pp.
==Bibliography==
* Cabrera, Miguel A. ''Postsocial History: An Introduction.'' (2004). 163 pp.  
*  Cayton, Mary Kupiec, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams, eds. ''Encyclopedia of American Social History'' (3 vol 1993) 2653pp; long articles  pages by leading scholars; see v I: Part II, ''Methods and Contexts,'' pp 235-434
*  Cayton, Mary Kupiec, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams, eds. ''Encyclopedia of American Social History'' (3 vol 1993) 2653pp; long articles  pages by leading scholars; see v I: Part II, ''Methods and Contexts,'' pp 235-434
* Cross, Michael S. "Social History," [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Params=A1ARTA0007523 ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2008) online]
* Cross, Michael S. "Social History," [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Params=A1ARTA0007523 ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2008) online]
* Cross, Michael S. and Kealey, Gregory S., eds.  ''Readings in Canadian Social History'' (5 vol 1984). 243 pp. 
*  Dewald, Jonathan.  ''Lost Worlds: The Emergence of French Social History, 1815-1970.'' (2006). 241 pp.   
*  Dewald, Jonathan.  ''Lost Worlds: The Emergence of French Social History, 1815-1970.'' (2006). 241 pp.   
* Eley, Geoff.  ''A Crooked Line: From Cultural History to the History of Society.'' (2005). 301 pp. 
* Fairburn, Miles.  ''Social History: Problems, Strategies and Methods.'' (1999). 325 pp.   
* Fairburn, Miles.  ''Social History: Problems, Strategies and Methods.'' (1999). 325 pp.   
* Fletcher, Roger. "Recent Developments in West German Historiography: the Bielefeld School and its Critics." ''German Studies Review'' 1984 7(3): 451-480. Issn: 0149-7952 Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0149-7952(198410)7%3A3%3C451%3ARDIWGH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E in Jstor]]
* Graff, Harvey J. "The Shock of the '"New" (Histories)': Social Science Histories and Historical Literacies," ''Social Science History'' - Volume 25, Number 4, Winter 2001, pp. 483-533 in [[Project Muse]]
* Henretta, James. "Social History as Lived and Written," ''American Historical Review'' 84 (1979): 1293-1323 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/1861469 in JSTOR]
* Henretta, James. "Social History as Lived and Written," ''American Historical Review'' 84 (1979): 1293-1323 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/1861469 in JSTOR]
* Kanner, Barbara.  ''Women in English Social History, 1800-1914: A Guide to Research'' (2 vol 1988-1990). 871 pp. 
* Lloyd, Christopher.  ''Explanation in Social History.'' (1986). 375 pp.   
* Lloyd, Christopher.  ''Explanation in Social History.'' (1986). 375 pp.   
* Palmer, Bryan D., and Todd McCallum, "Working-Class History" [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Params=A1ARTA0008710 ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2008)] 
* Pomeranz, Kenneth. "Social History and World History: from Daily Life to Patterns of Change." ''Journal of World History'' 2007 18(1): 69-98. Issn: 1045-6007 Fulltext: in [[History Cooperative]] and [[Project Muse]]
* Pomeranz, Kenneth. "Social History and World History: from Daily Life to Patterns of Change." ''Journal of World History'' 2007 18(1): 69-98. Issn: 1045-6007 Fulltext: in [[History Cooperative]] and [[Project Muse]]
* Stearns, Peter N. "Social History Today ... And Tomorrow," ''Journal of Social History'' 10 (1976): 129-155.
* Stearns, Peter N. "Social History Present and Future." ''Journal of Social History''. Volume: 37. Issue: 1. (2003). pp. 9+. [http://www.questia.com/read/5002024617?title=Social%20History%20Present%20and%20Future online edition]
* Stearns, Peter N. "Social History Present and Future." ''Journal of Social History''. Volume: 37. Issue: 1. (2003). Page Number: 9+. [http://www.questia.com/read/5002024617?title=Social%20History%20Present%20and%20Future online edition]
* Stearns,  Peter, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Social History'' (1993) 856 pp.  
* Stearns,  Peter, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Social History'' (1993) 856 pp.  
* Stearns,  Peter, ed. ''Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000'' (5 vol 2000), 209 essays by leading scholars in 3000 pp.  
* Stearns,  Peter, ed. ''Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000'' (5 vol 2000), 209 essays by leading scholars in 3000 pp.  
* Sutherland, Neil. "Childhood, History of," [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001579 ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2008)]
* Thompson, E. P.  ''The Essential E. P. Thompson.'' (2001). 512 pp.  highly influential British historian of the working class
*  Thompson, F. M. L., ed.  ''The Cambridge Social History of Britain, 1750-1950." Vol. 1: ''Regions and Communities''.  Vol. 2:'' People and Their Environment''; Vol. 3: ''Social Agencies and Institutions.'' (1990). 492 pp. 
* Tilly, Charles. "The Old New Social History and the New Old Social History," ''Journal of Social History'' 7 (1984): 363-406;
* Timmins, Geoffrey. "The Future of Learning and Teaching in Social History: the Research Approach and Employability." ''Journal of Social History'' 2006 39(3): 829-842. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]] and [[Project Muse]]
* Timmins, Geoffrey. "The Future of Learning and Teaching in Social History: the Research Approach and Employability." ''Journal of Social History'' 2006 39(3): 829-842. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]] and [[Project Muse]]
* Wilson, Adrian, ed.  ''Rethinking Social History: English Society, 1570-1920 and Its Interpretation.'' (1993). 342 pp.   
* Wilson, Adrian, ed.  ''Rethinking Social History: English Society, 1570-1920 and Its Interpretation.'' (1993). 342 pp.   
* Zunz, Olivier, ed. ''Reliving the Past: The Worlds of Social History,'' (1985) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=958580 online edition]
* Zunz, Olivier, ed. ''Reliving the Past: The Worlds of Social History,'' (1985) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=958580 online edition]
===Primary sources===
* Binder, Frederick M. and David M. Reimers, eds. ''The Way We Lived: Essays and Documents in American Social History.'' (2000). 313 pp. 
==See also==
==Online resources==


====notes====
====notes====
Line 74: Line 61:
[[Category:History Workgroup]]
[[Category:History Workgroup]]
[[Category:Sociology Workgroup]]
[[Category:Sociology Workgroup]]
[[Category:CZ Live]]
[[Category:CZ Live]][[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]

Latest revision as of 16:00, 19 October 2024

This article is developing and not approved.
 Main Article
 Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
https://en.citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=Social_history&printable=yes
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

Social history, often called the new social history, includes the history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life; history of social organization; and history of social movements and deliberate attempts to induce social change, whether from the top down or from the bottom up. Before the 1960s social history meant either the history of social movements, such as the Populist party, or the study of everyday life. The latter was a minor topic in history largely ignore by professionals. The "new social history" exploded on the scene in the 1960s, quickly becoming one of the dominant styles of historiography in the U.S., Britain and Canada. The French version, promulgated by the Annales School, was very well organizaed and dominated French historiography, and influenced much of Europe and Latin America. After 1990 it was increasingly challenged by cultural history, which emphasizes language and the importance of beliefs and assumptions and their causal role in group behavior.[1]

The study of the lives of ordinary people was revolutionized in the 1960s by the introduction of sophisticated quantitative and demographic methods, often using individual data from the census and from local registers of births, marriages, deaths and taxes, as well as theoretical models from sociology such as social mobility.

see also Social History, U.S..

There is no society for social history, but the field is covered in the Journal of Social History, edited since 1967 by Peter Stearns.[2] It covers such topics as gender relations; race in American history; the history of personal relationships; consumerism; sexuality; the social history of politics; crime and punishment, and history of the senses

Demographic history

Demographic history is the study of population history and demographic processes, usually using census or similar statistical data. It became an important specialty inside social history, with strong connections with the larger field of demography. See Demography, [U.S. Demographic Transition]] U.S. Demographic History, Fertility (demography), Mortality (demography), Infant mortality and Life expectancy

Modernization theory

Modernization theory has been controvbersial in social history. It is widely used and accepted in demographic history, and has been heavily promoted by the Bielefield School in Germany. However younger American scholars were hostile, since it seemed too politically conservative for their tastes.[3]

Ethnic history

Ethnic history covers the history of American ethnic groups (usually not including blacks). The Immigration and Ethnic History Society was formed in 1976 and publishes a journal for libraries and its 829 members.[4]

  • The American Conference for Irish Studies, founded in 1960, has 1,700 members and has occasional publications but no journal.[5]
  • The American Italian Historical Association was founded in 1966 and has 400 members; it does not publish a journal [6]
  • The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest ethnic society, founded in 1892; it has 3,300 members and publishes American Jewish History[7]

African-American history

African-American history studies blacks in the United States. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History was founded by Carter G, Woodson in 1915 and has 2500 members and publishes the Journal of African American History; since 1926 it has sponsored Black History Month every Febriary.[8]

Labor history

Labor history, deals with labor unions and the social history of workers. See for example Labor Unions, U.S., History The Study Group on International Labor and Working-Class History was established: 1971 and has a membership of 1000. It publishes International Labor and Working-Class History.[9]

Women's history

Women's history exploded into prominence in the 1970s,[10] and is now well represeneted in every geographical topic; increasingly it includes gender history.[11]

Family history

Family history emerged as a separate field in the 1970s.[12] The history of childhood is a subfield.[13]

Rural history

Agricultural history handles the economic and technological dimensions, while Rural history handles the social dimension. Burchardt (2007) evaluates the state of modern English rural history and identifies an "orthodox" school, focused on the economic history of agriculture. This historiography has made impressive progress in quantifying and explaining the output and productivity achievements of English farming since the "agricultural revolution."[14] The celebratory style of the orthodox school was challenged by a dissident tradition emphasizing the social costs of agricultural progress, notably enclosure, which forced poor tenant farmers off the land. Recently, a new school, associated with the journal Rural History, has broken away from this narrative of agricultural change, elaborating a wider social history. The work of Alun Howkins has been pivotal in the recent historiography, in relation to these three traditions.[15] Howkins, like his precursors, is constrained by an increasingly anachronistic equation of the countryside with agriculture. Geographers and sociologists have developed a concept of a "post-productivist" countryside, dominated by consumption and representation that may have something to offer historians, in conjunction with the well-established historiography of the "rural idyll." 

===France===

see Annales School

Germany

Social history developed within West German historiography during the 1950's-60's as the successor to the national history discredited by National Socialism. The German brand of "history of society" - Gesellschaftsgeschichte - has been known from its beginning in the 1960s for its application of sociological and political modernization theories to German history. Modernization theory was presented by Hans-Ulrich Wehler (1931- ) and his Bielefeld School as the way to transform "traditional" German history, that is, national political history, centered on a few "great men," into an integrated and comparative history of German society encompassing societal structures outside politics. Wehler drew upon the modernization theory of Max Weber, with concepts also from Karl Marx, Otto Hintze, Gustav Schmoller, Werner Sombart and Thorstein Veblen.[16]

In the 1970s and early 1980s German historians of society, led by Wehler and Jürgen Kocka at the "Bielefeld school" gained dominance in Germany by applying both modernization theories and social science methods. From the 1980s, however, they were increasingly criticized by proponents of the "cultural turn" for not incorporating culture in the history of society, for reducing politics to society, and for reducing individuals to structures. Historians of society inverted the traditional positions they criticized (on the model of Marx's inversion of Hegel). As a result, the problems pertaining to the positions criticized were not resolved but only turned on their heads. The traditional focus on individuals was inverted into a modern focus on structures, the traditional focus on culture was inverted into a modern focus on structures, and traditional emphatic understanding was inverted into modern causal explanation.[17]

Further reading

For a more detailed guide see the Bibliography subpage

  • Binder, Frederick M. and David M. Reimers, eds. The Way We Lived: Essays and Documents in American Social History. (2000). 313 pp.
  • Cayton, Mary Kupiec, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams, eds. Encyclopedia of American Social History (3 vol 1993) 2653pp; long articles pages by leading scholars; see v I: Part II, Methods and Contexts, pp 235-434
  • Cross, Michael S. "Social History," Canadian Encyclopedia (2008) online
  • Dewald, Jonathan. Lost Worlds: The Emergence of French Social History, 1815-1970. (2006). 241 pp.
  • Fairburn, Miles. Social History: Problems, Strategies and Methods. (1999). 325 pp.
  • Graff, Harvey J. "The Shock of the '"New" (Histories)': Social Science Histories and Historical Literacies," Social Science History - Volume 25, Number 4, Winter 2001, pp. 483-533 in Project Muse
  • Henretta, James. "Social History as Lived and Written," American Historical Review 84 (1979): 1293-1323 in JSTOR
  • Lloyd, Christopher. Explanation in Social History. (1986). 375 pp.
  • Pomeranz, Kenneth. "Social History and World History: from Daily Life to Patterns of Change." Journal of World History 2007 18(1): 69-98. Issn: 1045-6007 Fulltext: in History Cooperative and Project Muse
  • Stearns, Peter N. "Social History Present and Future." Journal of Social History. Volume: 37. Issue: 1. (2003). pp. 9+. online edition
  • Stearns, Peter, ed. Encyclopedia of Social History (1993) 856 pp.
  • Stearns, Peter, ed. Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000 (5 vol 2000), 209 essays by leading scholars in 3000 pp.
  • Timmins, Geoffrey. "The Future of Learning and Teaching in Social History: the Research Approach and Employability." Journal of Social History 2006 39(3): 829-842. Issn: 0022-4529 Fulltext: History Cooperative and Project Muse
  • Wilson, Adrian, ed. Rethinking Social History: English Society, 1570-1920 and Its Interpretation. (1993). 342 pp.
  • Zunz, Olivier, ed. Reliving the Past: The Worlds of Social History, (1985) online edition

notes

  1. ↑ Lynn Hunt and Victoria Bonnell, eds., Beyond the Cultural Turn (1999).
  2. ↑ See [1]
  3. ↑ Chris Lorenz, "'Won't You Tell Me, Where Have All the Good Times Gone'? On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Modernization Theory for History." Rethinking History 2006 10(2): 171-200. Issn: 1364-2529 Fulltext: Ebsco
  4. ↑ See Immigration and Ethnic History Society
  5. ↑ See American Conference for Irish Studies
  6. ↑ See American Italian Historical Association
  7. ↑ See American Jewish Historical Society and journal
  8. ↑ See ASALH
  9. ↑ See Study Group on International Labor and Working-Class History
  10. ↑ See American Women's History: A Research Guide
  11. ↑ see Teresa A. Meade and Merry Wiesner-Hanks, eds. A Companion to Gender History (2006)
  12. ↑ see Journal of Family History, quarterly since 1976
  13. ↑ Peter N. Stearns, "Social History and World History: Prospects for Collaboration." Journal of World History 2007 18(1): 43-52. Issn: 1045-6007 Fulltext: History Cooperative and Project Muse, deals with the history of childhood worldwide. See Peter N. Stearns, Childhood in World History (2005), A.R. Colon with P. A. Colon, A History of Children: A Socio-Cultural Survey across Millennia (2001), and Steven Mintz, Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood (2006).
  14. ↑ On British rural history see Jeremy Burchardt, "Agricultural History, Rural History, or Countryside History?" Historical Journal 2007 50(2): 465-481. Issn: 0018-246x
  15. ↑ Alun Howkins, The Death Rural England (2003) excerpt and text search
  16. ↑ Roger Fletcher, "Recent Developments in West German Historiography: the Bielefeld School and its Critics." German Studies Review 1984 7(3): 451-480. in Jstor]
  17. ↑ Chris Lorenz, "'Won't You Tell Me, Where Have All the Good Times Gone'? On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Modernization Theory for History." Rethinking History 2006 10(2): 171-200. Issn: 1364-2529 Fulltext: Ebsco
Retrieved from "https://citizendium.org/wiki/index.php?title=Social_history&oldid=988792"