historiography essay example

Types of Writing Assignments

• Narrative History
• Response Papers
• Creative Approaches
• Annotated Bibliographies
• Book Reviews

Historiographic Essays

• Research Papers

Basic Considerations When Writing on History

• Cause and Effect
• Establishing a Broader Context
• Common Fallacies

Types of Sources

• Secondary Sources
• Primary Sources
• Fiction/Art/Poetry
• The Internet

Critical Reading

• Historiography
• Bias/Prejudice
• Evaluating Contradictory Data and Claims

Preparation and Writing

• Time Management
• Note-Taking Tips
• Developing a Thesis
• Organization
• Formulating a Conclusion

Basic Quoting Skills

• Quotation/Annotation
• Bibliographies
• Advanced Quoting Skills
• The Ethics of Quoting

Style and Editing

• Drafts and Revisions
• Common Stylistic Errors

What is historiography?

Parts of a historiographic essay, a sample historiographic essay, works cited.

In a nutshell, historiography is the history of history. Rather than subjecting actual events - say, the Rape of Nanking - to historical analysis, the subject of historiography is the history of the history of the event: the way it has been written, the sometimes conflicting objectives pursued by those writing on it over time, and the way in which such factors shape our understanding of the actual event at stake, and of the nature of history itself.

A historiographic essay thus asks you to explore several sometimes contradictory sources on one event. An annotated bibliography might come in handy as you attempt to locate such sources; you should also consult the footnotes and bibliographies of any text you read on a certain event, as they will lead you to other texts on the same event; if your research is web-based, follow links - always bearing in mind the pitfalls of the Internet - and if you are researching in the library, check out the books on nearby shelves: you'll be surprised by how often this yields sources you may otherwise never have found.

For an example of an essay on multiple perspectives on the same event (for our purposes, the Rape of Nanking, an event also examined in the context of Book Reviews ), click here .

The purpose of an historiographic essay is threefold: 1.) to allow you to view an historical event or issue from multiple perspectives by engaging multiple sources; 2.) to display your mastery over those sources and over the event or issue itself; and 3.) to develop your critical reading skills as you seek to answer why your sources disagree, and what their disagreement tells you about the event or issue and the very nature of history itself.

Specific skills honed by such an exercise include your ability to discern bias or prejudice and to evaluate contradictory data and claims . As you will have to quote from your sources in order to make your point, you will also have to display basic quoting skills . The very nature of an essay on multiple sources also requires a Works Cited page, of course, on which, see Bibliography .

You will begin a historiographic essay with a thesis that presents the issue or event at stake, then introduces your sources and articulates, in brief, their authors' perspectives and their main points of (dis)agreement. In the main body of your paper you will elaborate upon and develop this latter point, pulling out specific points of (dis)agreement, juxtaposing quotes (and/or paraphrasing arguments) and subjecting them to analysis as you go along. As you do so, ask (and answer) why you think the authors of your various sources disagree. Is their disagreement a product of personal or professional rivalry, ideological incompatibility, national affiliation? These questions go to the heart of historiography. In your conclusion , finally, you will briefly summarize your findings and, more importantly, assess the credibility of your various sources, and specify which one(s) you find to be most compelling, and why. In final conclusion you might articulate in brief the insights you have gained into the event or issue at stake, the sources you have used, and the nature of history itself.

Let us assume that the subject of your historiographic essay is the Rape of Nanking, an event discussed in some detail in the Book Reviews section. There, we examine the event as it is described and analyzed by Iris Chang in her bestselling book The Rape of Nanking . To this we now add several other sources, all of which are listed in the Works Cited section at the end of this page , and cited in the text immediately following, which exemplifies, in brief, some of the basic strategies of a historiographic essay.

• THESIS: The so-called Rape of Nanking of 1937, a six-week massacre of Chinese civilians in the city of Nanking perpetrated by the invading Japanese army, was presented to a largely uninitiated American mass audience by Iris Chang in her best-selling book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (1997). Chang's vivid book spawned international interest and a number of responses from fellow historians worldwide. Western historians generally agreed with Chang's insistence that the event - long a mere footnote in the popular historiography of World War II - deserved larger notice, but some criticized her for displaying personal bias as well as historical inaccuracies and methodological weaknesses of various sorts. The response from a number of Japanese scholars was overwhelmingly negative. They denied her account of a post-war Japanese "cover up," yet at the same time also, to varying degrees, denied that the event had even occurred.
• EXAMPLE (1): Tanaka Masaaki, for example, author of the website "What Really Happened at Nanking: The Refutation of a Common Myth," refers to Chang's work as one of "lies, hyperbole, propaganda." Chang's "mountains of dead bodies," according to Matsaaki, were mountains "that no one saw." Her "Reports of mass murders of prisoners of War [were] fabricated," he claims, offering as evidence that there was "no mention of the 'Nanking Massacre'" - a term he pointedly places in quotation marks - "in Chinese Communist Party Records"; and that "No protests against the 'Nanking Massacre' [was] submitted to the League of Nations [or] ... by the United States, Great Britian, or France." The event, he concludes - if there even was one - was "a massacre with no witnesses" (Masaaki).

ANALYSIS: Much of Masaaki's criticism smacks of precisely the kind of revisionism Chang critiques in her book, and is easily exposed as such. The fact that Chinese communist party records make no mention of the event, for example, is hardly surprising, as the Chinese communists were at this time in disarray, operating largely underground in the Nanking area. Not until 1949 did the communists begin their rule over China and begin keeping official records: why then should we expect there to exist records dating back to 1937? Nor should the silence of the League of Nations, the United States, Great Britain and France come as any surprise. In the same year that France and Britain stood by as Nazi Germany re-militarized the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles; and that the United States and the League of Nation stood by as Franco and Mussolini continued in their campaigns against the rightful governments of Spain and Ethiopia, why would we expect the United States or the League of Nations to have registered any protest over events halfway around the world?

• EXAMPLE (2): Other arguments by Masaaki are more compelling. For example, he notes of one of the many disturbing photographs in Chang's book - a famous one, apparently showing a Chinese prisoner of war about to be beheaded by a Japanese officer brandishing a sword - that its "fakery is easy to detect if you look at the shadow cast by the man at the center [the officer] and that cast by [a lower-ranking] soldier to his right. [The shadows] are facing in different directions" (Masaaki). The photograph does indeed seem to be a composite, and while stopping short of supporting Masaaki's claim that "not a single one of [Chang's photographs] bears witness to a 'Nanking Massacre'," even American historian Robert Entenmann concedes that several of the photos in Chang's book are indeed "fakes, forgeries and composites," including one (also singled out by Masaaki) "of a row of severed heads," which, according to Entenmann, in fact depicts "bandits executed by Chinese police in 1930 rather than victims of the Nanking Massacre" (Masaaki, Entenmann).

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: Faked though some of Chang's twelve pages of photos might be - perhaps even all of them, as Masaaki suggests - the fact that there exist literally hundreds of photographs of the Nanking Massacre, many of them "souvenir photos" taken by Japanese soldiers themselves, strains the credibility of his larger point and even more so the point made by his stridently anti-Chang colleagues Takemoto Tadao and Ohara Yasuo. In their The Alleged 'Nanking Massacre': Japan's Rebuttal to China's Forged Claims , these writers state that "none of these photos are dated, and the names of places and photographers are not stated. In other words, there exist [no] photos that are rigidly authentic, and definitely, these photos can not be used as evidence of [the] 'Nanking Massacre'" (Tadao and Yasuo 101). In fact, several hundred photographs have been published in one volume - The Rape of Nanking: An Undeniable History in Photographs , by Shi Young and James Yin, many of them showing female rape victims with legs spread and genitalia exposed - graphic photographs it is hard to conceive of as staged. Such pictures, while not settling the matter beyond dispute, offer powerful testimony that speaks for itself.

• EXAMPLE (3): Notwithstanding the many graphic photographs that exist, it is precisely the accusation of widespread rape - most likely because of its abhorrent nature - that Chang's Japanese critics wish to deny. "The number of 'cases of rape' [the Chinese] claim is from 20,000 to 80,000 cases," Tadao and Yasuo note. "Suppose we took this number, there should have been from 500 to 2,000 cases of rapes...daily [during the six week period of the Massacre]. This number is absolutely not trustworthy," they conclude, citing instead the number of only 361 official complaints of rape actually registered during this period (130). Of course, they are parsing numbers here. The fact is, whether there were three hundred rapes, thirty thousand, more, or less, rape perpetrated by an occupying force against a civilian population (and that such was the case is amply documented in Chang and virtually all extant sources on Nanking, including the Japanese sources, although they, of course, acknowledge only 361) is a crime of war. But that it is an individual crime of war, rather than a collective, government-sponsored crime against humanity (such as the Holocaust) is precisely the point for the Japanese historians: "[Holocaust] killings were indeed ... 'crimes against humanity', [but] those crimes are fundamentally different from the 'war crimes' which the Japanese troops are said to have committed. ... Those acts of crimes [were] the responsibility of each individual soldier" (136, 130). Following this line of reasoning, the Japanese government is absolved of any blame for the rapes that did occur in Nanking, the exact number of which remains unknown. (On this issue, see Evaluating Contradictory Data and Claims ).
• EXAMPLE (4): More trenchant criticism of Chang than that offered by Japanese historians comes from the American academy. Robert Entenmann, for example, a China expert and senior faculty member in the History department at St. Olaf College, faults Chang on the very premise of her book. He denies that there is a conspiracy of silence surrounding Nanking in Japan; maintains (in contradiction to Chang's claims) that Japanese textbooks do address the event (it is rather quaintly referred to as an "incident" in Japanese historiography, if at all, rather than a massacre, far less a rape); states that those textbooks that do mention it offer fatality rates listed between 150,000 to 300,000 (the Western consensus is around 250,000; Chang claims 300,000); and that 80% of respondents to a 1994 opinion poll in Japan found "that their government had not adequately compensated victimized peoples in countries Japan had colonized or invaded" (Entenmann). On this last count, it is worth noting that the specific wording of the question does not appear to address Nanking explicitly, and that the opinion poll's finding thus bears little relevance to the question at hand. We might also be skeptical of Entenmann's generous appraisal of Japanese textbooks: on its role in World War II, Japan's high school textbooks in particular are subject to constant revision, much of it aimed at mitigating the government's role in wartime atrocities, as a 2007 New York Times article reminds us (Onishi 12).
• EXAMPLE (5): Entenmann's more fundamental criticism of Chang's work and perspective, however, goes deeper. As the granddaughter of former Nanking residents who barely escaped the city, she is guilty, he writes, of having fallen victim to "her own ethnic prejudice. ... Her explanations are, to a large extent, based on unexamined [anti-Japanese] ethnic stereotypes." Furthermore, she engages in "implausible speculations," according to Entenmann, for example, her claim that Emperor Hirohito himself exulted in the news of the Rape of Nanking (see Chang 179). In fact, Entenmann points out, Hirohito's response is unknown, and Chang may be guilty here of "confus[ing] Japanese leaders' delight in the fall of the Chinese capital with exulting in the massacre that occurred afterward" (Entenmann).

ANALYSIS: Such sleights of hand (which Entenmann himself indulges in, as his opinion poll example above shows) are perhaps conscious on Chang's part, or perhaps a function of her not being a professional historian and therefore applying a less-than-rigorous methodology in her efforts to tell a good story. She is after all, a popular (rather than an academic) historian, whom another bestselling historian, Stephen Ambrose, whose scholarship has also been faulted on several counts, once called "the best young historian we've got because she understands that to communicate history, you've got to tell the story in an interesting way" (Ambrose qtd. in Sullivan B6).

• CONCLUSION: It is this zeal to tell a good story and back it up with sensational evidence (even if - like some of her photographs - it is faked), as well as her occasionally emotional prose, sometimes bordering on hyperbole, that remains Chang's greatest liability. In an effort to place the Rape of Nanking into historical context, for example, she states that "[u]sing numbers killed alone" it "surpasses much of the worst barbarism of the ages." Its casualties exceeded those of the Carthaginians at the hands of the Romans, the victims of the Spanish Inquisition, and those of the Mongolian leader Timur Lenk, she writes in a series of specious comparisons that culminate with the observation that "the deaths at Nanking far exceeded the deaths from the American raids on Tokyo ... and even the combined death toll of the two atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki" (Chang 6). In The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography , an anthology generally sympathetic to Chang's project (if not to her methodology), George Washington University history and international affairs professor Daqing Yang, himself a native of Nanking, notes that "such a comparison [as Chang's] is methodologically sterile" and "morally misguided" (Yang 161). Indeed, it is precisely the sort of parsing of numbers for which Chang herself would most likely challenge the above-mentioned Japanese historians in their effort to deny the extent to which rape occurred at Nanking. Despite these failings, Chang's book ultimately emerges as a more persuasive argument of what did in fact happen at Nanking than those offered by her Japanese detractors. The enduring controversy surrounding the event, however, and the specific criticism against Chang from even those who support her premise, point both to the endlessly debatable nature of history, and to the need for a more rigorous, analytical approach in its telling. As Joshua Fogel notes in his introduction to The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography , "The Massacre and related events must be lifted beyond the popular level ... to be studied with greater nuance and with a wider range of sources" (Fogel 1). In such a project, the contradictory data and claims of Chang and her critics need not necessarily be mutually exclusive but, instead, might help establish a broader context within which the event can be understood more fully, from all sides.
• Chang, Iris. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II (New York: BasicBooks, 1997).
• Entenmann, Robert. "Review of Iris Chang: The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II." October 29, 1998. H-Net List for Asian History and Culture , 1998. Accessed July 1, 2007. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/481.html .
• Yang, Daqin. "The Challenges of the Nanjing Massacre: Refections on Historical Inquiry." The Nanjing Massacre in History and Historiography. Ed. Joshua Fogel. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000, 133 - 180.
• Masaaki, Tanaka. "What Really Happened in Nanking: The Refutation of a Common Myth." N.d. Accessed July 1, 2007. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/unko/tamezou/nankin/whatreally/index.html .
• Onishi, Norimitsu. "Japan's Textbooks Reflect Revised History." The New York Times , April 1, 2007, A12.
• Sullivan, Patricia. "'Rape of Nanking' Author Irish Chang Dies." November 12, 2004, B6. Washington Post , November 12, 2004, B6. Accessed July 1, 2007. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44139-2004Nov11.html .
• Takemoto, Tadao and Ohara Yasuo. The Alleged 'Nanking Massacre': Japan's Rebuttal to China's Forged Claims. Tokyo: Meisei-sha, Inc., 2000.
• Young, Shi and James Ying. The Rape of Nanking: An Undeniable History in Photographs, expanded 2nd edition. Chicago, Innovative Publishing Group, Inc., 1997.

The interested reader will find another brief exercise in historiographical inquiry - this one on the disputed relationship between the Catholic Church and fascism during the 1930s - in the Research Paper section of this site, under "Conducting Research for 'The Austrian Catholic Church and the Anschluss': Catholicism and fascism."

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What is historiography, what is the purpose of a historiography paper, what are the different branches of history, what are the parts of a historiography paper.

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Historiography means “the writing of history.” In a research paper, the writer asks questions about the past, analyzes primary sources, and presents an argument about historical events, people, or societies. In a historiography paper, the author critiques, evaluates, and summarizes how historians have approached, discussed, and debated certain topics over time. 

Scholars who work with the same historical records and archival materials can often come away from their research with vastly different opinions about why things happened the way they did. In some cases, historians who study the same sources are not even interested in the same topics or people! This variety of approaches is precisely why we write historiographies.  

Historians arrive at such different conclusions for many reasons. One is that historians are individuals with unique experiences, and our experiences and identities often affect how we approach our work. Historians are also influenced by social, cultural, political, and technological events in their lifetimes. For example, the introduction of computers allowed historians to use more quantitative data in their research, while social and political developments (e.g., civil, gay, and women’s rights movements) continue to influence the kinds of questions historians ask about historical subjects. 

In a historiographical paper, the author (that’s you!) examines the sources, theories, and assumptions that historians have used to conduct their research. Your job is then to explain why and how the history of a particular subject has been written the way it has.  

Writing historiography is a lot like writing a literature review . For this reason, many of the links and resources in this LibGuide will direct you towards existing Library resources for writing literature reviews.

Historiography assignments typically have two goals:  

• They encourage you to explore secondary studies and familiarize yourself with scholarly debates within the history of a given topic.  
• how historians have treated a topic in the past,  
• how they have used novel approaches and methodologies to ask new questions, and 
• how other disciplines like anthropology, sociology, literary critique, and psychology have influenced the work of historians.  

Your instructor might leave the approach up to you or they might encourage you to write a specific kind of historiography. For example, your paper might:  

• analyze how contemporary or near-contemporary historians interpreted or explained past events as or just after they occurred,  
• review how historians have approached a specific topic over time and explain why their methods and assumptions have produced different or similar arguments, or 
• compare how historians from different “schools” of thought have treated the same topic.  

Depending on the nature of your paper and argument, you might end up combining some of these approaches, for example, by dividing your paper chronologically and discussing the branches of history that were popular during each period.  

There are many fields and subfields within history, each with its own theoretical assumptions and methodological trends, but this list of the most common ones will help you get started: 

• Art history  
• Cultural history  
• Diplomatic history  
• Economic history  
• Environmental history  
• History of science  
• Intellectual history  
• Political history  
• Social history 
• Women’s and gender history 

Like most history papers, the historiography follows a traditional essay structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The major difference is that the analysis focuses on the secondary sources, as opposed to the primary sources.  

What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?

Primary sources are the sources created by or about our historical subjects, during or slightly after the period we study. They can be firsthand accounts of historical events (newspapers, chronicles, diaries, letters, memoirs, or court documents) or sources that were produced during or just after the period we study (books, songs, films, art, or artifacts). The most important distinction is that most of these sources do not contain any big-picture analysis of the past: they are sources or materials that get us as close to our subjects as possible, to help us understand how they thought, believed, and lived.  

Secondary sources are the texts that contain research produced by historians who have analyzed primary sources to learn more about the past. To help the reader understand their arguments, the authors of historical studies interpret, analyze, and synthesize information from primary sources and the research of other historians. Peer-reviewed articles, books, and conference papers are all considered secondary sources.  

Introduction

• To explain the focus and show the importance of the subject.  
• provide the framework, selection criteria, or parameters of your historiography.  
• provide brief background context for the topic being discussed.   
• outline what kind of work has been done on the topic.  
• briefly point out any controversies within the field or any recent research that has raised questions about earlier assumptions, if they are relevant to your paper.  
• In a stand-alone historiography paper, the thesis statement will sum up and evaluate the current state of research on this topic.  
• In a historiography paper that introduces or is preparatory to an argumentative history paper or graduate thesis, the thesis statement will situate your original research within the existing historiographical debates and help to justify your work by proving what is new or interesting about your chosen approach.  
• To summarize and evaluate the current state of historical knowledge about this subject.  
• To note major themes or topics, the most important trends, and any findings on which researchers agree or disagree.  
• Can be divided by subheadings, but this is usually not necessary in papers shorter than 2,000 words.  
• For example, a historiography section in a dissertation on memories of the Second World War might discuss how commemoration has been studied in the context of the First World War and the American Civil War, as well as broader cultures of commemoration in Britain, Canada, Australia, and the US.  
• To summarize the evidence presented and show its significance.  
• Rather than restating your thesis or purpose statement, explain what your historiographical overview tells you about the current state of the field.  
• If the historiography is an introduction to your own research, the conclusion highlights gaps and shows how earlier research has led to your own research project and chosen methodology.   
• If the historiography is a stand-alone assignment for a course, the conclusion should summarize your findings and discuss implications and possibilities for future research.  

In most history courses at the University of Guelph, you will use Chicago Manual of Style’s notes and bibliography reference style (footnotes). Follow the guidelines to format citations (footnotes) and create a reference list or bibliography at the end of your paper.  

To get started with basic Chicago style, see the library’s quick guide on how to  Cite Your Sources: Chicago Notes & Bibliography . 

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What is a Historiographical Essay?

Historiographical essays, evaluating secondary sources, acknowledgement.

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A historiographical essay:

• Is based on a broad, less focused topic or theme, e.g., Reconstruction in the United States)
• Critically examines secondary sources written by historians
• Puts emphasis on the historian, the historian's bias and how the writing of a particular topic has changed over the years
• Examines and compares other historians' arguments in opposition to each other

The purpose of an historiographic essay is threefold:

• To allow you to view an historical event or issue from multiple perspectives by engaging multiple sources;
• To display your mastery over those sources and over the event or issue itself; and
• To develop your critical reading skills as you seek to answer why your sources disagree, and what their disagreement tells you about the event or issue and the very nature of history itself.

Selected Titles About Historiography

• What information is given about the author? Is the author an historian?
• Can you identify the historian's school of thought?
• Read the table of contents, preface and other introductry material. Does the author set up his/her thesis (or point of view) in these sections? Who is the intended audience? Is it written for historians or for a general audience?
• What is the date of publication? If the book or article is old, it will not highlight recent scholarship. Is this important? Is it a reflection of the histories of the time or does it deviate from the norm?
• What primary source material does the author use? What primary source material may have been available to the author at the time?
• Consider the bibliography. Do the sources listed indicate serious works that are relevant to your topic? You may want to consult works used by the author. 

All materials from: Historiography: Ramapo College,   https://libguides.ramapo.edu/HIST201rice

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HIST 300 - Introduction to Historical Studies: Historiographic Essay (Literature Review)

• Getting Started
• Ask-a-Librarian
• Annotated Bibliography
• Spartanburg Community College Annotated Bibliography Examples
• Historiographic Essay (Literature Review)
• Types of Searches
• Developing Keywords and Related Ideas
• Evaluating Websites for Credibility
• Search Strategies for Books
• Specialized Reference Resources - Definitions
• Finding Credible Sources
• Online Statistical Resources
• Finding Articles from Citations
• Primary Sources for China scholarship
• Important Journals on Modern China
• U.K. Parliamentary Papers
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• Chicago Style Citation Basics
• New York Times - complimentary online access
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What is a Historiographic Essay / Historiographic Review?

A Historiographic Essay (also known as a Historiographic Review or, outside of the history discipline, a Literature Review ) is a systematic and comprehensive analysis of books, scholarly articles, and other sources relevant to a specific topic that provides a base of knowledge. Literature reviews are designed to identify and critique the existing literature on a topic, justifying your research by exposing gaps in current research. 

This investigation should provide a description, summary, and critical evaluation of works related to the research problem or question, and should also add to the overall knowledge of the topic as well as demonstrating how your research will fit within a larger field of study.  A literature review should offer critical analysis of the current research on a topic and that analysis should direct your research objective. This should not be confused with a book review or an annotated bibliography; both are research tools but very different in purpose and scope.  A Literature Review can be a stand alone element or part of a larger end product, so be sure you know your assignment.  Finally, don't forget to document your process, and keep track of your citations!

Process of a Literature Review

The process of writing a literature review is not necessarily a linear process, you will often have to loop back and refine your topic, try new searches and altar your plans. The info graphic above illustrates this process.  It also reminds you to continually keep track of your research by citing sources and creating a bibliography.

• Know what the review is for; each assignment will offer the purpose for the review.  For example, is it for “background”, or a “pro and con discussion”, "integration", “summarizing”, etc.
• Create a “search plan”, decide where you will search for information, what type of information you will need.
• Research   - Preform Searches; choose sources and collect information to use in your paper.  Make sure you cite the sources used.
• Think  - Analyze information in a systematic manner and begin your literature review (e.g., summarize, synthesize, etc.). Make sure you cite the sources used.
• Complete  - Write your paper, proof & revise and create your finished bibliography.

Elements in a Literature Review

• Elements in a Literature Review txt of infographic

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How to Write a Historiographical Essay

December 15, 2023

Understanding the purpose of a historiographical essay is crucial to writing a successful and informative essay. Essentially, the purpose of a historiographical essay is to provide an overview of the scholarly literature on a particular topic. Historiographical essays allow writers to identify, analyze and evaluate the existing scholarship on a topic and to present their findings in a cogent and persuasive manner. The key to writing a successful historiographical essay is to demonstrate a clear understanding of the topic and to provide a balanced and insightful analysis of the existing scholarship. To achieve this, writers must be able to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature and identify areas where new research is needed. By doing so, writers can make important contributions to the historiography of their respective fields and advance our collective understanding of important historical topics.

Selecting a Topic

Selecting a topic is a crucial step in writing a historiographical essay. The topic must be appropriate in terms of its relevance, scope, and availability of sources. It is important to choose a topic that is important to the field and has a rich historiography, as this will allow the writer to engage with a range of different debates and interpretations. Once a suitable topic has been identified, it is important to begin the process of gathering sources and identifying key debates within the existing historiography. This process can be time-consuming and challenging, but it is crucial in developing a nuanced and insightful understanding of the topic. Ultimately, a strong historiographical essay will demonstrate a deep knowledge of the topic, a mastery of the relevant literature, and the ability to provide critical analysis and synthesis of existing scholarship.

Example Historiographical Essay Topics:

• The Historiography of the American Civil War
• The Historiography of World War II
• The Historiography of the French Revolution
• The Historiography of Ancient Greece
• The Historiography of Women’s Suffrage Movements
• The Historiography of Colonialism in Africa
• The Historiography of the Civil Rights Movement
• The Historiography of the Renaissance
• The Historiography of the Holocaust
• The Historiography of the Cold War

Gathering and Analyzing Sources

Gathering and analyzing sources is a fundamental step in writing a historiographical essay. To effectively engage with the existing scholarship on a topic, writers must collect a wide range of sources and critically evaluate them. Here are some key steps to consider:

• Identify primary and secondary sources: Begin by identifying primary sources that are directly related to your topic. These may include archival documents, diaries, or personal letters. Also, gather relevant secondary sources such as scholarly articles, books, and monographs that provide analysis and interpretation of the topic.
• Evaluate the credibility and reliability of sources: Assess the credibility and expertise of the authors and publishers. Consider the date of publication to gauge how current the information is. Ensure that the sources come from reputable journals or publishing houses.
• Analyze the perspectives and arguments: Read the sources carefully and analyze the differing perspectives and arguments presented. Take note of recurring themes, debates, and gaps in the literature.
• Create an annotated bibliography: Compile an annotated bibliography that provides a summary and evaluation of each source. Include key arguments, methodologies used, and any biases or limitations.
• Identify trends and debates: Explore how different historians have approached the topic and identify key trends or shifts in interpretations over time. Look for areas of consensus and disagreement among scholars.

By effectively gathering and analyzing sources, writers can develop a comprehensive understanding of the existing historiography, identify gaps, and construct a well-rounded and persuasive argument in their historiographical essay.

Developing an Outline

Developing an outline is an essential step in organizing the structure and flow of a historiographical essay. It helps writers to establish a clear and logical framework for their arguments. Here are some key considerations when developing an outline for a historiographical essay:

Introduction:

• Provide an overview of the topic and its historical context.
• Clearly state the purpose of the essay and the thesis statement.

Background and Historiographical Context:

• Provide a brief overview of the existing scholarship and historiography on the topic.
• Highlight key debates, theories, and influential historians.

Themes and Trends in the Historiography:

• Identify major themes and trends that have emerged in the literature.
• Discuss the different approaches and interpretations.

Critique and Evaluation of Sources and Arguments:

• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the existing scholarship.
• Evaluate the credibility, biases, and limitations of sources and arguments.

Identifying Gaps and Future Directions:

• Discuss areas where further research is needed and potential avenues for future scholarship.

Conclusion:

• Recap the main arguments and findings from the historiographical analysis.
• Reflect on the significance of the topic and its contribution to the field.

By structuring the essay with a well-developed outline, writers can ensure that their arguments are coherent, logical, and supported by the existing historiography.

Experience the convenience of generating historiography essays effortlessly with our new tool .

Writing the Introduction

The introduction of a historiographical essay plays a vital role in setting the stage for the reader and presenting the main objectives and arguments of the essay. Here are some key elements to consider when writing the introduction:

Contextualize the topic:

• Provide a brief overview of the historical era, event, or theme being examined.
• Establish the historical significance of the topic and its relevance to the field of study.

Introduce the historiographical approach:

• Explain the purpose of a historiographical essay, which is to analyze the existing scholarship and interpretations on the topic.
• Highlight the importance of understanding how historians have studied and written about the topic over time.

Present the main thesis or argument:

• Clearly state the main argument or thesis that the essay will be exploring.
• Provide a preview of the main points or themes that will be discussed to support the argument.

Outline the structure of the essay:

• Give a brief overview of how the essay will be structured, including the main sections or themes that will be covered.
• This helps provide a roadmap for the reader and allows them to understand the progression of the essay.

Engage the reader:

• Begin with an attention-grabbing opening sentence or a thought-provoking question related to the topic.
• Establish a connection with the reader by explaining why the topic is important and how it relates to broader historical debates or current events.

By crafting a well-written and informative introduction, the writer can effectively capture the reader’s attention and provide a solid foundation for the rest of the historiographical essay.

Background and Historiographical Context

Before delving into the analysis and evaluation of the existing scholarship, it is essential to provide a solid background and historiographical context in a historiographical essay. This section sets the stage for the reader and helps them understand the broader historical landscape surrounding the topic. Here are some key points to consider in this section:

Historical background:

• Provide a brief overview of the historical period, event, or theme being studied.
• Highlight any key historical developments or events that are relevant to the topic.

Importance of the topic:

• Explain why the topic is significant within the context of the broader field of study.
• Highlight its relevance to wider historical debates or its impact on society.

Historiographical overview:

• Summarize the development of the historiography on the topic over time.
• Identify influential works, key historians, and pivotal moments in the evolution of the scholarship.

Key debates and interpretations:

• Introduce major debates among historians regarding different aspects of the topic.
• Highlight the key interpretations and schools of thought that have emerged in the historiography.

By providing a comprehensive background and historiographical context, this section prepares the reader for the subsequent analysis and evaluation of the existing scholarship in the historiographical essay.

Themes and Trends in the Historiography

Analyzing the themes and trends in the historiography is a crucial aspect of writing a historiographical essay. This section explores the ideas, theories, and overarching patterns that have emerged in the scholarship on the topic. Here are key points to consider:

Identify major themes:

• Discuss the recurring topics or concepts that historians have focused on when studying the topic.
• Highlight the different aspects of the topic that have received significant attention within the historiography.

Examine evolving perspectives:

• Discuss how interpretations and perspectives on the topic have evolved over time.
• Identify significant shifts in historiographical approaches and theories.

Analyze methodologies:

• Explore the methodologies and approaches employed by historians in studying the topic.
• Consider the methods used in collecting and analyzing primary sources, as well as the theoretical frameworks applied.

Evaluate prevailing interpretations:

• Identify dominant interpretations or schools of thought within the historiography.
• Examine the strengths and weaknesses of these interpretations and their impact on the field.

By analyzing the themes and trends in the historiography, writers can demonstrate their understanding of the scholarly discourse and provide a comprehensive overview of the different perspectives on the topic.

Critique and Evaluation of Sources and Arguments

Critiquing and evaluating the sources and arguments is a crucial component of a historiographical essay. This section assesses the reliability, biases, and scholarly contributions of both primary and secondary sources. Here are some key points to consider:

Critique of primary sources:

• Evaluate the quality, authenticity, and biases of the primary sources used by historians.
• Consider the context in which the sources were created and any limitations they may have.

Evaluation of secondary sources:

• Assess the arguments, methodologies, and evidence presented in the secondary sources.
• Consider the credibility and expertise of the authors and their contributions to the field of study.

Comparison of perspectives:

• Compare and contrast the different interpretations and arguments presented by historians.
• Analyze the similarities, differences, and points of contention among the various perspectives.

Identification of gaps and limitations:

• Identify any gaps or limitations in the existing scholarship on the topic.
• Consider areas where further research or analysis is needed.

Synthesis of sources and arguments:

• Synthesize the various sources and arguments to identify overarching trends and common themes.
• Evaluate the overall strengths and weaknesses of the historiographical discourse on the topic.

By critically evaluating the sources and arguments, writers can demonstrate their ability to engage with the existing scholarship and contribute to the ongoing discourse on the topic in a historiographical essay.

Writing the Conclusion

The conclusion of a historiographical essay serves as the final opportunity to summarize and synthesize the key findings, arguments, and perspectives presented throughout the essay. Here are some important points to consider when writing the conclusion:

Summarize the main arguments:

• Recapitulate the main arguments and interpretations presented in the essay.
• Highlight the different perspectives and approaches that have been examined.

Evaluate the historiography:

• Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the existing scholarship on the topic.
• Discuss any overarching trends or significant shifts in historiographical interpretations.

Address remaining questions and gaps:

• Consider any lingering questions or unresolved issues in the historiography.
• Discuss areas where further research is needed to fill gaps in knowledge.

Discuss personal insights and contributions:

• Offer your own insights and reflections on the topic based on the analysis conducted.
• Highlight any unique contributions or perspectives you have brought to the historiography.

Emphasize the significance:

• Reinforce the importance and relevance of studying the topic within the field of history.
• Discuss how the historiographical essay contributes to the broader understanding of the topic.

By writing a concise and comprehensive conclusion, you can effectively summarize the key points and contributions made in the historiographical essay, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the topic’s historiography and its significance.

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Princeton University Library

Historiography.

• About historiography

Finding historiographic essays -- first steps

Historiography in library catalogs.

• More places to look

For topics that are of wide interest, you may be able to find an essay that reviews the literature on that topic, and that sets it in context by discussing how other historians have approached that topic. This kind of essay is invaluable when you are starting a research project. There are two easy ways to find them:

History Compass is an online journal that publishes historiographic essays. If there is an essay on your topic, it can be an excellent place to start. Caution: if you do not find what you need with your first search, don't choose Edit Search, because you will then be searching all the publisher's online journals. Return to the starting point for History Compass to continue searching just within this journal.

If your topic is covered, check Oxford Bibliographies Online (currently, covers African Studies, Atlantic History, Medieval Studies, Military History, Classics, Criminology, Islamic Studies, Philosophy, and Renaissance and the Reformation, and many other fields)

America: History & Life and Historical Abstracts In both of these bibliographic databases, "historiography" is a Subject. For example, in AHL, to find historiography on the American Civil war, do a Subject search for: civil war historiography

Annual bulletin of historical literature History Reference (SH). Firestone Z6205 .H65 and online

The "Blackwell Companions" are a series published both in print and online in Blackwell Reference Online . If there is one on your topic, it can be an exceptionally useful place to start reading. Note: to find print copies of the Blackwell Companions, do a keyword search in the Main Catalog for " Blackwell companions to history," "Blackwell companions to American history," " Blackwell companions to British history," " Blackwell companions to world history," or " Blackwell companions to European history " to see if there is a volume in this series that covers your topic. Some copies circulate, and others are in the History Reference room on A floor.

When you are searching the library catalog for books on your topic, "historiography" is a useful keyword, because it is used in Library of Congress Subject Headings. For example:

• Historiography--Great Britain.
• United States --Politics and government --1783-1865 --Historiography.
• World War, 1914-1918 --Historiography.
• Europe--Historiography.
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History 300: A Guide to Research: Historiography

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• Historiography

What is a Historiography?

A historiography (noun) or  historiographical paper  is an analysis of the interpretations of a specific topic written by past historians. 

• Specifically, a historiography identifies influential thinkers and reveals the shape of the scholarly debate on a particular subject.
• You can think of this as a narrative description of the web of scholars writing on the same or similar topics. A historiography traces how scholars' understanding of historical events has evolved and how scholars are in conversation with each other, both building on and disputing previous works. The process is similar to that used for creating literature reviews in other disciplines. 

The major purpose of writing a historiographical paper is to convey the scholarship of other historians on a particular subject, rather than to analyze the subject itself.

• A historiography can be a stand-alone paper, in which case your paper examines the work completed by other historians. 
• Alternately, a historiography can act as an introduction to a major research paper, in which you will go on to add your own analysis.

Thus, a good historiography does the following:

• Points out influential books and papers that exemplified, shaped, or revolutionized a topic or field of study.
• Shows which scholars were most effective in changing the scope of the discussion/debate.
• Describes the current trends in the field of study, such as which interpretations are currently in the mainstream.
• Allows the writer (that's you!) to position themselves in the discussion for their analysis.

Writing a Historiography

Parts of a historiography.

• presents the issue or event at stake, then introduces your sources and articulates, in brief, their authors' perspectives and their main points of (dis)agreement. 
• elaborates upon and develop your introduction, pulling out specific points of (dis)agreement, juxtaposing quotes (and/or paraphrasing arguments) and subjecting them to analysis as you go along. As you do so, ask (and answer)  why  you think the authors of your various sources disagree. Is their disagreement a product of personal or professional rivalry, ideological incompatibility, national affiliation? 
• briefly summarizes your findings and, more importantly, assess the credibility of your various sources, and specify which one(s) you find to be most compelling, and why. In final conclusion you might articulate in brief the insights you have gained into the event or issue at stake, the sources you have used, and the implications for the scholarly discussion about your topic/historical event overall.

Sample Historiographies

• Sample Historiographic Essay (CUNY)
• University of Toronto LibGuide: Examples of historiographic essays
• Historiographical essay examples

Historiographical Questions

Questions of historiography include the following:

• who writes history, with what agenda in mind, and towards what ends?
• how accurate can a historian ever hope to be, analyzing past events from the vantage point of the historian's present?
• does the historian's  own  perspective, impacted as it undoubtedly is by gender, age, national and ideological affiliation, etc., contribute to an "agenda" that the historian's work is playing into, unwittingly or consciously?
• what about the types of sources, both primary and secondary, an historian chooses to base their work upon? Do  they  too contribute to the above-mentioned "agenda"?
• does the very selection of sources (and, by extension, the decision to exclude certain other sources) prejudice the outcome of the historian's work in certain ways?  et cetera ...

As you can tell, the underlying sentiment of historiography is one of skepticism. This is due to the recognition that historians  do  have agendas and  do  select sources with the intent of "proving" certain preconceived notions. History is therefore never truly "objective," but always a construct that presents the historian's view of things.

Historiographical Evaluation

General source questions (the five ws).

• Who  – Who made the source - did they have an opinion or bias? Were they involved?
• What  – What information does the source give? Is it the full story? Is it accurate?
• Why  – Why was the source made? Was it made to persuade people of a particular opinion? Was it made to take the mickey out of something/someone?
• When  – Was it made at the time? Or years later? Was the person there?
• Where  – Where was the source made? Were they involved in the event? Did they have an opinion?

Questions for Evaluating Secondary Sources

• Who is the author (their expertise, previous research, affiliations, positionality, etc.), and what seems to have been their likely intention in writing this?
• What is the source's main argument?
• When was the source written, and does the date of publication potentially impact upon the source's information or argument?
• Who seems to be the intended audience for the source?
• How is the source structured?
• Does the structure of the source (its various parts, sections, and/or chapters) reinforce its larger argument? How?
• What kinds of sources, or examples, does the source offer in support of its argument, and which are most (and least) effective? Why?
• Does the source engage other writers' works on the same subject and, even if not, how would you position the source in relation to other texts you are aware of on the same subject (texts you have read for class, for example)?
• does the author uses inflammatory language: in the most extreme cases, racial epithets, slurs, etc.;
• does the author consistently makes claims whose larger purpose is to elevate (or demean) one social, ethnic, national, religious, or gender group as compared to another, or all others;
• does the author consciously presents evidence that serves to tell only one side of an event or issue, purposefully withholding or ignoring information that may shed the opposing view in a more positive light;
• does the author manufactures, falsifies and/or dishonestly cites evidence in order to present his or her case in a more positive light.
• and if so, is that prejudice the product of the author's own background, ideology, research agenda, etc. as far as you can tell?
• How persuasive is the source (if certain aspects are more persuasive than others, explain why)
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University Libraries

How to create a historiography.

• Historiography: Definitions
• Step-By-Step Creation

Searching for Historiographies

Examples of student-written historiographies, examples of historiographical books.

Click on the black arrow to open the chat in a new window. If we're not online, please email us at [email protected]. Please allow 1-2 business days for a response.

A quick search in the library catalog using "Historiography" as a keyword will get you a host of books on a variety of subjects.

To find a historiography of a particular subject, you can use the following search structure: specific topic name AND historiography

• Ex: Holocaust AND Historiography

• << Previous: Step-By-Step Creation
• Next: Need Help? >>
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• URL: https://uri.libguides.com/historiography

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Historiography: Overview

• Examples of Historiographies

What Is a Historiography?

There are two common uses of the term "historiography."

Historiography as a General Descriptor

In this case, the historiography of a topic is the sum total of the interpretations of a specific topic written by past and current historians. This allows historians and scholars to talk about "the state of the historiography" at a point in time, or to "add historiography" to a paper to make it more complete.

Historiography as a Noun, or a Historiographical Paper

In this usage, a historiography or historiographical paper is an analysis of the interpretations of a specific topic written by past historians. Specifically, a historiography identifies influential thinkers and reveals the shape of the scholarly debate on a particular subject.

• The major purpose of writing a historiographical paper is to convey the scholarship of other historians on a particular subject, rather than to analyze the subject itself.
• A historiography can be a stand-alone paper, in which case your paper examines the work completed by other historians. 

Alternately, a historiography can act as an introduction to a major research paper, in which you will go on to add your own analysis. As an introduction, a good historiography does the following:

• Points out influential books and papers that exemplified, shaped, or revolutionized a field of study.
• Shows which scholars were most effective in changing the scope of the debate.
• Describes the current trends in the field of study, such as which interpretation is currently in the mainstream.
• Allows the writer to position themselves in the field for their analysis.

An example of historiography as introduction

"The historiography of the decision to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima changed over the years as new research questioned the former consensus view that the decision to drop the atomic bomb was predicated on the necessity to save American lives."

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Helpful Links

• How to Create a Historiography Parts of this SMU guide are based on this research guide from the University of Rhode Island University Libraries.
• Historiographic Essays Examples from the History Department at Queens College, New York.

Search Tips

• Historiography is useful as a search term.
• Since you will be searching for change over time on a topic, you will want to make use of a database's ability to limit a search by date of publication.
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How To Write A Historiographical Essay: Essential Guide With Example

Many students want to learn how to write a historiographical essay when pursuing history studies. In simple terms, historiography is a history of history. Some people define historiography as the study of the history writing process.

No single approach is unimpeachable or correct. Regardless of how a scholar treats a subject in an unbiased and fair manner, political pressures and agendas, resources limitations, contemporary academia trends, and inherent critical analysis subjectivity invariably shape the final product.

Essentially, historians can view the same sources but achieve radically different conclusions about their significance and their message about the subject. How people teach and remember history can debunk, legitimate, or influence ideological agendas. Consequently, scholars must evaluate how historians conceptualize research, analyze sources, and present findings to the popular audience or scholarly community. When writing a historiographical paper, a student explores and summarizes historians’ changing interpretations and arguments of a particular historical topic.

This article defines a historiographical essay, its importance, and how to research and write it. If the professor asked you to write historiography, you might wonder what is it and what writing it entails. In that case, this article will be a perfect guide to help you understand it and compose a winning paper.

Table of Contents

What is a historiographical essay, historiographical essay outline, how to write a historiography paper step by step, historiographical essay example, experts advice on historiographical essays.

A historiography paper or essay is a write-up that analyzes how several authors treat a historical issue or topic.

It’s a problem-centered paper rather than a review whose center is a single publication. For instance, a historiography essay about the Jewish resistance can focus on how different authors, including Bauer, Hilberg, and Gutman, define the opposition during the Holocaust. It can also analyze different conclusions regarding the resistance extent and opinions about the effects.

A paper about such a topic can also point to the disagreement and agreement areas. It can also discuss the reasons for the differences and implications for the comprehension of the subject. Educators ask students to write historiographical papers for the following reasons.

To view historical issues or events from different perspectives by consulting various sources. To display their mastery over the sources, the event, and the issue. To develop critical reading skills while answering why the sources agree or disagree with the others and what this reveals about the issue or event and the history’s nature.

While there’s no single organization or format for a historiographical paper, the write-up should have an introduction, the body, and a conclusion.

Writing a historiography starts with selecting topics if the educator didn’t assign you a specific issue or event. Remember, your title should be interesting, narrow, and relevant. Once you’ve chosen a title for your paper, research it extensively to gather vital information for your essay. After that, organize your essay according to this outline or structure.

• Introduction: Start the essay by briefly introducing your sources and articulating or elaborating on your topic. Also, include a historiography thesis statement that presents the event or issue at stake. Briefly state the authors’ perspectives and main points of agreement or disagreement.
• Body: Elaborate and develop the authors’ perspectives and main points of agreement and disagreement. Each of your main points can have its paragraph with juxtaposing quotes. Subject the main points to careful analysis. While doing this, ask yourself why the authors of different sources disagree. Is the disagreement due to professional or personal rivalry, national affiliation, or ideological incompatibility? Readers should find answers to such questions in your historiography.
• Conclusion: Summarize the findings in the finale while assessing various sources’ credibility. Also, specify the most compelling sources and why. Your ending can also provide the brief insights you’ve gained into the issue or event at stake, your information sources, and history’s nature.

These are the main sections of a historiography paper. However, research is vital because it enables you to gather adequate data and write an informative historiographic essay.

Maybe the educator has assigned you a historiography paper. Perhaps, you want to know how to write a historiography essay before working on the assignment. In that case, following these steps will help you write a winning paper.

How historians detect historical excavation sites What you should do when investigating cultural heritage Earth’s history from formation to contemporary times The Soviet internment camps during the Stalin Era Historical facts classification The Japanese Americans’ fate during WWII Mongolian assistance to the Soviet Union during the WWII Analyzing historical research and its primary analysis areas The definition of a country’s sovereignty during the 19th century The Pamela Parsons activity in the 70s Describing historical thinking in India’s colonial era Defining a historical fact Weber’s approach to the causation problem Foucault meaning by biopower Describing Edward Said’s reception by historians The value of political history The importance of non-western world history in shaping Western historiography The importance of material and visual culture in history writing Neuroscience can help humans write better history Should historians depend on literary sources only?

• Research your Topic After selecting a topic, research it extensively before writing your essay. In this step, focus on analyzing how different authors view the issue. That means you must examine their arguments or opinions. You can look for credible information sources in your college or university library. Also, consult textbooks, databases, and websites.Don’t forget to record every source for purposes of writing the bibliography. Your essay must cite all information sources appropriately to sound credible to the readers.
• Analyze information Read information from reliable sources and analyze it critically. Ask questions and write notes while reading. Also, look for standard and differing arguments, opinions, or themes between sources.Analyzing information requires deep reading to understand various texts and make the necessary connections. After careful information analysis, you can write a high-quality historiographical paper.
• Organize your paper Organize ideas using an outline after reading and noting down your sources, and perhaps, outlining before writing is the best tip on how to write a historiography paper. Your essay should have a straightforward format. Decide where the information you’ve gathered during the research will go. Also, choose the examples or quotes to include in the paper to elaborate or expound on the main points.

When writing the main points, you do it in different ways. For instance: You can report authors chronologically, tracing changes in their field over time. You can discuss various schools of thought about the topic and discuss them separately. You can integrate historiography and address the previous historians’ work and their relationship with your analysis.

• Proofread and edit Once you’ve written the draft, strengthen your essay by revising and editing it. Check your write-up for all types of errors, including grammatical, factual, and typos. Does this paper still feel too challenging to write? If yes, don’t worry because the next section has tips and tricks to guide you further.

Looking at historiographical essay examples can help you out in understanding what you have to do. Here is a historiographical essay sample that might prove helpful in your task.

Commodus in the Guise of Hercules is a marble portrait statue. The striking resemblance of the figure is notable as it is a representation of both Commodus and Hercules. By documenting key expressions, symbols and emblems it is clear that there are a variety of levels that these two characters are compared in Commodus in the Guise of Hercules. In this analysis, the key elements of physical, social and historical significance will be evaluated. Further, the documentation of literary and scholarly note can be established in order to define the relation between a historical leader Commodus and his counterpart Hercules. The statue creates an awareness of Commodus not being a godly creature. Sculptures were created in order to identify Commodus as having a connection to Hercules. The later revelation that he was actually an incarnation of Hercules solidifies the understanding of this character as an epiphany. The vanity that is expressed throughout this story shows that the emperor was willing to dress up like a god despite the social unacceptability of this at the time. The Roman society at the time demonstrated this type of behavior as not fashionable based on their ideals and virtues The symbolic understanding and meaning of the sculpture is multidimensional. The zodiac involves the Capricorn, Taurus and Scorpio throughout the globe of the statue. The interpretation as well as debating has contributed significantly towards the image. There are symbols that create multidimensional meaning throughout the context. The sculpture also features Romulus, Augustus and Commodus, further depicting the core players within the literature. The structure of Commodus in the Guise of Hercules has been demonstrated throughout the study. Based on the idea that Commodus is the loving ruler of war, there are key historical points presented throughout the piece. As Roman expansion was a key priority for Commodus, studies have shown the extent to which he was able to maintain the process. Other details of the story are presented in multiple forms such as the belief that he was the Conqueror of the World. Numerous statues have been selected to create and celebrate lasting change. Lucius Aurelius Commodus, as known by the Roman Empire was infamous for his cruelty. By documenting his life there are clear strategies for how this Emperor was able to establish change throughout the empire. The accentuating standards of the character shows that there are spectacular aspects of his leadership that can transcend time. The misadventures of this character in addition to the personal qualities have contributed to this lasting reputation. The background of Commodus is unique because of the violence experienced by numerous historic standards of operation. Divine elements of these stories define the valuable standards for leadership and authority within the Roman Empire. These trends were documented throughout the explanation of Commodus. Numerous forms of evidence exist to establish the memory of this figure while touching on sociological tenants that have taken place in numerous modalities. Propagating power is a theme that appears throughout the life of Commodus. Divine ancestry as well as the close correlation between Hercules and other mythological figures. Historically, it has been seen throughout the Roman Empire that emperors are interested in naming Hercules as the symbol of gladiators. Vanity in addition to larger issues of coins being depicted suggests that Hercules can be raised to a great degree. The zodiac symbol as well as alternative interpretation of these stories has contributed to the mystery and universal acknowledgement of this character. Hercules was considered a preferred model for several reasons. These had to do mostly with the characteristics of leadership, warfare as well as divine fusion with god like characters. The sculpture shows Commodus dressed in lion skins and a club in the hand, sure signs of the herculean image he wanted to promote, showing himself not as a godly creature but a God itself, it was common between Roman Emperors to be addressed as godly creatures but Commodus was in a higher position as his vanity allows him. A God between mortals might be the origin of the sculpture. It is also said that he forced the Roman senate to officially acknowledge he was a God. He loved the war and for that reason he maintained a large army and always pushing the Roman expansion obsessed with it. Besides of his “God” title, he also empowered himself with many other titles such as Conqueror of the World, All-Sur-passer and Roman Hercules. Is right for that last title, that Roman Hercules title that inspired the creation of the sculpture. In his time there was lots of statues build in his name in order to celebrate his name either willingly or by force. It is this kind of life the way he went through his life as a Roman Emperor that created a culture of cultic from the people of the empire during his life and even greater after his dead, people massively following him as a godly creature, a God itself, a cruel Emperor, either by their own choice because of the love, or the fear, or the faith, or perhaps by force in many of his celebrations. All of that shows how Commodus had affection for his own and how high he thought about himself even trespassing the boundaries of madness. In his stories we can find a lot of mad behavior, meanness and brutality in his commands and actions, all of that while researching in his misadventures, the most spectacular stories about him. Many authors cite historians and contemporaries of Commodus mentioning him as a violent ruler, full of terror stories such as he loved to kill innocent people in a slaughter, or the way he mixed expensive food with human excrements as part of his mad cruel life. Generations of Roman Emperors believe in his divine ancestry and used Hercules elements in their portraits and sometimes only to save themselves they came up with an excuse that they just were using a symbol of gladiators. But Commodus vanity was further far ahead he even issued coins with him depicting as Hercules, such a high level of comparison he even renamed the months after Hercules. Yet the symbols depicted in his statues represents sarcophagi symbols as if he was saying he was immortal. Well many historic accounts are not to be believe as a hundred per cent of truth, hardly we can validate this stories as a sure fact, some other historiographers represent Commodus as a nice and even divine man, making its counterpart with all the previous narrative. Commodus in the Guise of Hercules creates a multidimensional and critical aspect of artistic endeavors. The Sculpture promotes ideals within the Roman Empire as well as the essential aspects of lasting rule. Caracalla defined himself as a military force and was often characterized by a strong sense of fortitude. Stories of his character involved masculine traits and a general confidence that yielded positive benefits. Divine rights as well as ruler ship throughout the Roman Empire have contributed to these aspects of strength, courage and power. The power that is shown through specific symbols such as the loincloth, and baton are symbolic not only of the leadership but also of the strategic victories and success experienced. Critical standpoints as well as the artistic elements that underlie this piece are unique because of historical and artistic significance. The study of Commodus as Hercules is powerful and can yield useful patterns for the application of character development to sculpting. The extravagance and continued social acceptance of the sculpture itself shows how vanity and the popular themes of the time were encapsulated. A divine right for ruler ship is also thematic in this sculpture. While the facial expressions and the integral postures of the figures are revealing, there are numerous details that illustrate key dimensions of the mythological stories surrounding Commodus. The artistic representations found in the piece are unique because of the historical significance of Commodus and his leadership. Because of unpopularity and notoriety for his selfish tendencies, the social acceptance of this piece is unique and shows that there was a special exception made for this individual. In-depth analysis has contributed greatly to the development of Commodus stories in Roman life. Childhood events and his experiences have contributed towards changes in the nature of his life. Further there are personal aspects of the personal image that Commodus had throughout his career. Not only is this documented through stories as well as literary forms of publication, but further in the archaeology of ancient Rome. The personal identity of Commodus is discerned throughout the literature and has been widely debated. The similarities to ancient warfare as well as contextual examples about his life are numerous; it is possible for a wide variety of conclusions to be drawn about how he is portrayed in the Commodus in the Guise of Hercules. Because of the exuberance that Commodus has demonstrated in his life it is clear that there are strategies from his leadership encapsulated in the statute. These elements as well as characteristic wardrobe and attire show that he was a leader and also representative of the excellence from his time period. There are significant aspects of both rulers that can be seen in the piece. By envisioning the most successful attributes of both, the sculpture has preserved an ideal depiction that is rare for its time. It also creates a profound system for articulating social and cultural needs. Throughout these strategies it is clear that there are numerous and documented examples of power and progress in terms of the characteristic symbol of masculinity. These are themes that can be interpreted from the crossover between Herculues and Commodus. Nobility and the ideals of warfare are characterized in addition to successes through battle. The depiction of an Amazonian woman is one that yields this to a great degree. The structural elements that are incorporated within the statue are multidimensional and represent characteristic of history as well as mythology. As a symbol of strength and earthly labors, there are few representations that are crossed over with political figures or leaders. The marble portrait envisions famous elements of Hercules’ life and accomplishments. Symbols are careful representations of the golden apple and other descriptors of Hercules throughout history. With the influence of astrology in this piece the representation of human condition merged with historical significance affects viewers greatly. It creates an impression of culture that not only relates to humanity, but also portrays the powerful characteristics that resemble god like authority. The complete assimilation of these themes is present throughout the statue and creates an effective system that represents both Hercules and Commodus. Overall it is possible to establish several key themes in the propagation of Roman and Greek culture. With the characteristics of Hercules within the statue, it is possible for the Greek symbols of power and progress to be translated. The conversion into Roman culture is effective and results in valuable interpretations amongst sociologists and historians. Meanwhile, the stoic representation of Commodus within the piece is demonstrative of effective techniques and methods of incorporation between the two cultures. Further research on the significance of classical and contemporary art would benefit from this piece because of the culmination of both Greek and Roman stories.

Historiography should help you understand the treatment your topic has received from historians. The following tips, from a professional research paper helper , should help you achieve the purpose of your essay.

• Focus on critiquing, evaluating, and summarizing how historians have debated, discussed, and approached your topic over time.
• Read an excellent historiographical essay example before writing yours to familiarize yourself with this paper’s format.
• Show the readers how various authors’ perspectives differ.
• Evaluate and summarize the current historical knowledge state about the subject.
• Summarize your evidence in conclusion and describe its significance.
• Identify and explain patterns in various sources.
• Examine every interpretation’s plausibility in your essay

The educator expects you to investigate multiple sources of information about a historical issue or event from different perspectives. And you accomplish this by summarizing, critiquing, and evaluating each author’s work. Perhaps, you can read this example historiography to understand what the educator expects from you.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Historiography — The Importance of Historiography in Studying History

The Importance of Historiography in Studying History

• Categories: Historiography Study World History

About this sample

Words: 1171 |

Published: Sep 1, 2020

Words: 1171 | Pages: 3 | 6 min read

Table of contents

Historiography essay outline, historiography essay example, introduction.

• Definition of history and its significance
• Introduction to historiography as the study of how history is written

Evolution of Historical Writing

• The origins of historical writing
• Influence of Christianity on early historical records
• The transition from divine accounts to human events

Herodotus and Greek Historiography

• Herodotus as a pioneer in historical writing
• Herodotus's methods and approach to history
• The storytelling style of Greek historiography

Chinese Historiography

• The distinct characteristics of Chinese historiography
• The role of Chinese historians and their sponsorship
• The focus on moral lessons and dynastic history

Ibn Khaldun and Arab Historiography

• Ibn Khaldun's contributions to historiography
• The methods and principles of Arab historiography
• The importance of criticism, observation, and comparison

Criticism in Historiography

• Examination of primary sources in historiography
• General criticisms of historiography, including biases and limitations
• Roman and Chinese historiography as examples of bias and focus
• The role of historiography in interpreting the past
• The relationship between historiography and the evolution of historical writing
• The importance of studying historiography to understand different perspectives on history

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