5.27.22 Reflecting on Historical Writing and Historiography

The air is soupy, the temperature is soaring and the "love bugs" have returned... it's summer in Florida and the semester has begun! This week was relatively uneventful. That's to be expected as everything is planned, set and organized. Next week we will get into the "brass tacks" of History Lab and the internship. In the first blog post I mentioned how teaching others develops one's own understanding of the subject. I've found that to be true this week as I reflected and re-examined what historical writing and historiography are and how to approach them.

It's important for everyone, be they amateur or professional, to return to the basics and re-examine, reflect and rejuvenate their skills or knowledge. This process could be compared to finishing a book then re-reading the first chapter with an entirely different perspective, or beating a video game and replaying the first level. Skills, tricks and strategies are developed and shared with others. That's been my goal this week. I began with A Pocket Guide to Writing in History: Ninth Edition by Mary Lynn Rampolla. Rampolla's guides are great handbooks for basic history writing skills such as examining sources, developing a thesis, building an argument, and, perhaps the most significant, avoiding plagiarism. These are the essential building blocks of historical writing that the I hope to help my peers with through History Lab.

The basics of historical writing and historiography are often lost with flashy wordplay or overextended arguments. History students often get caught in the historical details of a text and lose the overall argument the author is presenting. I would know: a problem with historical writing that I struggle with is cutting the "fat" of the paper off to leave just the "meat." I found limiting my papers to just two pages a challenging task, but doing so forced me to stop fixating on the specific details and events and instead on the author's argument. Hopefully I can help others facing a similar problem that I had through the History Lab. Focusing on the author's argument allows the reader to understand the underrated, although just as important, other half of historical writing: historiography.

Historiography is an aspect of the History Lab I would like to expand. Historiography is the glass that holds the water of history. We view the murky details of history through various historiographical lenses that may provide different interpretations of historical events, directions, movements and so on. Authors form competing models to add to the greater discussion. Beginner historical writers often make the mistake of focusing on the events that have already been scrutinized sufficiently. Through History Lab I will try to assist students with understanding the historiography the author is using, and how they might use that in their writing.

That's all for this week! Next week we should begin getting into the brass tacks of History Lab and the internship. I'm excited!

References

Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide To Writing in History. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2018.