A Companion to the Study of History

A Companion to the Study of History guides students through all the historical concepts, theories, methods and problems confronting those engaged in the serious study of history. It distinguishes between history as action and history as narrative and illuminates the vital interplay between understanding and doing in a lively and accessible manner. The author covers the nature of history, questions about action and meaning, views of the past, history as discourse, narrative and knowledge, the use of evidence, causation and event, theories of history and also a wide variety of recent theoretical perspectives and schools of thought.

Introduction. 1. History as Unity. 2. History as Action. 3. History as Outlook. 4. History as Discourse. 5. History as Knowledge. 6. History as Relic. 7. History as Event. 8. History as Sequence. 9. History as Theory. 10. History Transcended: Metaphysics, Marx, Myth and Meaning. Index.

Michael Stanford was until 1983 Senior Lecturer in History at the University of the West of England and holds degrees in philosophy and history. He now co–edits the philosophy journal Cogito, and writes articles and reviews on both history and philosophy.

"With Michael Stanford as a guide, the journey through history becomes lively and informative. Cheerful, accessible, wise, witty, and philosophically grounded, his book engagingly connects history as lived experience and as critical reconstruction of the past. Both professional historians and students of history will learn much from Stanford′s lucid common sense." Charles Tilly, New School for Social Research, New York