Synopses & Reviews
Frustrated with the usual methods of scholarly inquiry, EwaDomanska hit upon the idea of interviewing some of the world's most original andimportant theorists and philosophers of history to get at the heart of contemporaryunderstandings of history. The result is Encounters, an exciting collection ofthese dialogues. So old-fashioned as to seem revolutionary, the interview formatallows for a concise presentation of the main ideas of each writer, providing easyaccess to theories that have shaped modernhistoriography.
No one book could encompass thevast territory of contemporary historiography, but this text gives us a sense ofwhat underlies some of the most interesting and challenging work in the field.Although Domanska's interlocutors hold widely divergent views, they agree aboutwhich issues are important. Most strikingly, all share the belief that aesthetics, objective reality, and meaning are the most crucial concerns in our understanding ofhistory today. The interviews also address such pressing issues as the relation ofhistory to its modes of presentation, the relation of particular works of history tothe notion of history in general, and the personal and civic functions of history.Ewa Domanska's Encounters offers a unique look into the hearts and minds of today'smost stimulating historical theorists.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-286) and index.