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Journal article 1257 views

On Writing Contemporary History

Martin Johnes Orcid Logo

North American Journal of Welsh Studies, Volume: 6, Issue: 1, Pages: 20 - 31

Swansea University Author: Martin Johnes Orcid Logo

Abstract

Hidden behind the finished products of history are long, painstaking processes of evaluating both sources and the narratives produced from them. All historians go through these processes but for contemporary historians they have unique dimensions. Rather than having to cope with a scant historical r...

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Published in: North American Journal of Welsh Studies
Published: 2011
Online Access: http://welshstudiesjournal.org/article/view/11/7
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa31120
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first_indexed 2016-11-17T14:13:14Z
last_indexed 2021-01-22T03:49:33Z
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spelling 2021-01-21T12:42:25.2074683 v2 31120 2016-11-17 On Writing Contemporary History 8aa6d8da22a168889f76c9a5a6e5fa84 0000-0001-9700-5120 Martin Johnes Martin Johnes true false 2016-11-17 AHIS Hidden behind the finished products of history are long, painstaking processes of evaluating both sources and the narratives produced from them. All historians go through these processes but for contemporary historians they have unique dimensions. Rather than having to cope with a scant historical record, the contemporary historian is more likely to be overwhelmed with sources, forcing him/her into crucial decisions of selection. An author can also be very near to a topic and thus have strong preconceptions to overcome. Moreover, his/her subjects might still be alive which raises ethical questions about ownership of the past. This article addresses such issues, paying particular attention to how writers of surveys of contemporary history have tackled them. The solutions are often literary ones and, for all the problems of writing contemporary history, when done well it can be lively, entertaining, engaging, unsettling and provocative. Journal Article North American Journal of Welsh Studies 6 1 20 31 methodology, archives, methods,Wales, history, historiography 1 1 2011 2011-01-01 http://welshstudiesjournal.org/article/view/11/7 COLLEGE NANME History COLLEGE CODE AHIS Swansea University 2021-01-21T12:42:25.2074683 2016-11-17T08:47:21.6953100 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - History Martin Johnes 0000-0001-9700-5120 1
title On Writing Contemporary History
spellingShingle On Writing Contemporary History
Martin Johnes
title_short On Writing Contemporary History
title_full On Writing Contemporary History
title_fullStr On Writing Contemporary History
title_full_unstemmed On Writing Contemporary History
title_sort On Writing Contemporary History
author_id_str_mv 8aa6d8da22a168889f76c9a5a6e5fa84
author_id_fullname_str_mv 8aa6d8da22a168889f76c9a5a6e5fa84_***_Martin Johnes
author Martin Johnes
author2 Martin Johnes
format Journal article
container_title North American Journal of Welsh Studies
container_volume 6
container_issue 1
container_start_page 20
publishDate 2011
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - History{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - History
url http://welshstudiesjournal.org/article/view/11/7
document_store_str 0
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description Hidden behind the finished products of history are long, painstaking processes of evaluating both sources and the narratives produced from them. All historians go through these processes but for contemporary historians they have unique dimensions. Rather than having to cope with a scant historical record, the contemporary historian is more likely to be overwhelmed with sources, forcing him/her into crucial decisions of selection. An author can also be very near to a topic and thus have strong preconceptions to overcome. Moreover, his/her subjects might still be alive which raises ethical questions about ownership of the past. This article addresses such issues, paying particular attention to how writers of surveys of contemporary history have tackled them. The solutions are often literary ones and, for all the problems of writing contemporary history, when done well it can be lively, entertaining, engaging, unsettling and provocative.
published_date 2011-01-01T03:37:58Z
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score 11.012924

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