MH Historiography and Historical Methods

Question 1

Who authored 'The Idea of History' (1946), a foundational work in the philosophy of history?

Accepted Answer

R.G. Collingwood

Answer

R.G. Collingwood's 'The Idea of History' (1946) remains a cornerstone text arguing that history involves the re-enactment of past thought in the historian's own mind.

Question 2

The Annales School, which revolutionized historiography by emphasizing social and economic structures, originated in which country?

Accepted Answer

France

Answer

The Annales School was founded in France in 1929 by Lucien Febvre and Marc Bloch through the journal 'Annales d'histoire économique et sociale.'

Question 3

Leopold von Ranke's goal of recounting history 'wie es eigentlich gewesen' (as it actually was) is most associated with which approach?

Accepted Answer

Empiricist historicism

Answer

Von Ranke's empiricist historicism held that rigorous archival research could recover objective past events as they actually occurred, free from philosophical speculation.

Question 4

Fernand Braudel's concept of the 'longue durée' emphasizes which dimension of historical time?

Accepted Answer

Long-term geographical and structural forces shaping history over centuries

Answer

Braudel's longue durée refers to the very long-term, slow-moving structures—geography, climate, deep social patterns—that shape history over centuries and even millennia.

Question 5

Hayden White's 'Metahistory' (1973) controversially argued that historical narratives are fundamentally shaped by:

Accepted Answer

Literary tropes such as tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire

Answer

White argued that historians employ literary tropes (emplotment modes) to organize events into narratives, making historical writing as much a literary as an empirical enterprise.

MH - Master of Humanities Practice Test

MH - Master of Humanities Practice Test

MH Historiography and Historical Methods