What is history?

 

The world is changing at  a rapid rate, and how will historians record these changes? How have they done so in the past?

To start with, it is necessary to realise that  ‘the past’ and ‘history’ are not the same thing. History refers to accounts constructed by historians, and is not a blanket term for the past. E.. H. Carr, in his path-breaking book ‘What is history?’ brought out many aspects of history, some of which are still debated today. He rejected the outdated Victorian concept of history as an objective record of facts, and put forward this point in a very simple way. He said; ‘The facts speak only when the historian calls on them: it is he who decides to which facts to give the floor, and in what order or context … It is the historian who has decided for his own reasons that Caesar’s crossing of that petty stream, the Rubicon, is a fact of history, whereas the crossings of the Rubicon by millions of other people .. interests nobody at all.’ Putting it slightly differently,  history is an account  which chooses facts.

The concept that choice is involved, has however given rise to extreme views, as for instance, that  history is anything one wants it to be. The presumption here is that the past is so totally  inaccessible, that we can only know versions of it. Deconstructionist theory even suggests that history is not  a record of the past, or an interpretation based on evidence, but  a fiction, a literary form like any other imaginative narrative. Post-modernist theory suggests that there are innumerable untold and hidden histories, hence there cannot be a linear history that tries to make sense of the past and leads up to the present.

Many historians, including E H Carr, adopt a middle ground, rejecting the theory that history is purely subjective, based only on individual views, ideology and interpretation, but at the same time recognising that individual interpretation and ideology are an aspect of any historical writing. Carr believed  a historian could be objective and transcend  individuality. He felt the present does affect ones views of the past, and history actually is  a result of a dialogue or interaction between the past and the present, and between the individual and society.

It is not possible here to go further into the innumerable debates  on what constitutes history today. The somewhat complicated and obscure nature of these discussions, can be depicted by one division of history writing into five categories: 'Reconstructionist, Constructionist, Postconstructionist, Deconstructionist and Endest.' 

Despite all the debates all historians are aware of two key aspects of history writing, i.e., that it involves a selection of facts and an interpretation of them, and that both these aspects would reflect the ideology of the individual historian.

Another major aspect to be recognised and understood is that history, that is the historians' understanding of the past is constantly changing. The past does not change, but as has been pointed out earlier, the past and ‘history’ are two different things. History changes along with new research, new ways of interpretation, new tools used for uncovering the past, new finds, and new ideologies.  

A historian has a vast array of facts at his/her disposal.  Out of this, how and what does one choose?  Choice is based on several factors, the first of which is the nature of history to be written, and the scope and area to be covered. For instance, for a general history of the world, one would select some limited  topics of India’s history.  For a history of a country such as Ghana or Norway, India may be barely touched upon, while a history of India would focus on all the aspects of the country. There can also be specific types of history such as social history; economic history; subaltern; political history; general history, anthropological, religious, women, or  regional history. In addition there are  specialised histories, for instance,  art history, history of music, sports, military history, historical geography,  or the history of any other topic. A particular approach to history, such as Marxist, subaltern, postmodernist, psycho-analytical, etc., also leads to different choices.

Within the field of history there are other specialisations such as archaeology, numismatics, epigraphy and  iconography. These can be subjects in themselves, but are also used to understand different aspects of history. The knowledge of a language is another important  tool in reading texts for an understanding of history, while the field of linguistics is also important in historical analysis.

In addition, a number  of different sciences are used in interpreting history. A recent trend is the use of  genetic research, including analysis of DNA and genomes. This is used in archaeo-genetics, particularly  to trace migration patterns. However, caution has to be used before accepting the results of these studies, which are often based on very limited and selective data. 

Chemical analysis of various artefacts,  pollen analysis, and dating techniques including Radio Carbon dating and thermoluminescence are among the other scientific techniques  used to understand the past.  Statistical methods, and socio-economic mathematical models can also be used.

This article provides just a brief glimpse of the complexities of history. And yet, every person believes that he or she can make authoritative comments on the past!