This collection of innovative and experimental pieces of historical writing shows there are fascinating and important new ways of thinking and writing about the past. The pieces illustrate the performative and fictive nature of history. Leading the reader to a deeper understanding of the possible responses to the question 'What is history?' They even suggest that this traditional question might be better replaced with 'How shall I engage with the past today?'. The collection includes subjects as diverse as a lynching in South Carolina, the life of an eighteenth century French Marquise and a journey to a string of Pacific islands. The pieces show what is possible in doing history. They demonstrate how other factors, such as the impact of emotions, the feeling of 'otherness', the confining character of boundaries, authorial subjectivity, and even a sense of boredom with conventional ways of doing history, intrude on historical practice. The book includes a thorough two-part introduction on theory and practice, as well as further introductory matter at the start of each section to allow the reader to engage fully with the theoretical aspects of each part of the book.
Marjorie Becker, Greg Dening, Marie Theresa Hernandez, Sumiko Higashi, Chris Ward, Jonathan Walker, Bryant Simon, Robin Bisha, Judith P. Zinsser, James Goodman, Maureen Healy, William Deverell, David