HISTORIOGRAPHY As a philosophical ideology and movement, positivism first assumed its

* Historiography, the writing of history, especially the writing of history distinctive features in the work of Comte, who also named and
based on the critical examination of sources, the selection of particular systematized the science of sociology. It then developed through
details from the authentic materials in those sources, and the synthesis several stages known by various names, such as
of those details into a narrative that stands the test of critical empiriocriticism, logical positivism, and logical empiricism, finally
examination. The term historiography also refers to the theory merging, in the mid-20th century, into the already existing tradition
and history of historical writing. known as analytic philosophy.
Modern historians aim to reconstruct a record of human activities and The basic affirmations of positivism are (1) that
to achieve a more profound understanding of them. This conception of all knowledge regarding matters of fact is based on the “positive” data
their task is quite recent, dating from the development in the late 18th of experience and (2) that beyond the realm of fact is that of
and early 19th centuries of “scientific” history and the simultaneous rise pure logic and pure mathematics. Those two disciplines were already
of history as an academic profession. It springs from an outlook that is recognized by the 18th-century Scottish empiricist and skeptic David
very new in human experience: the assumption that the study of Hume as concerned merely with the “relations of ideas,” and, in a later
history is a natural, inevitable human activity. Before the late 18th phase of positivism, they were classified as purely formal sciences. On
century, historiography did not stand at the centre of any civilization. the negative and critical side, the positivists became noted for their
History was almost never an important part of regular education, and it repudiation of metaphysics—i.e., of speculation regarding the nature
never claimed to provide an interpretation of human life as a whole. of reality that radically goes beyond any possible evidence that could
This larger ambition was more appropriate to religion, philosophy, and either support or refute such “transcendent” knowledge claims. In its
perhaps poetry and other imaginative literature. basic ideological posture, positivism is thus worldly, secular,
(Written by Richard T. Vann. Retrieved in antitheological, and antimetaphysical. Strict adherence to the
https://www.britannica.com/topic/historiography) testimony of observation and experience is the all-
important imperative of positivism. That imperative was reflected also
* In a nutshell, historiography is the history of history. Rather than in the contributions by positivists to ethics and moralphilosophy, which
subjecting actual events - say, Hitler's annexation of Austria - to were generally utilitarian to the extent that something like “the greatest
historical analysis, the subject of historiography is the history of happiness for the greatest number of people” was their ethical maxim.
the history of the event: the way it has been written, the sometimes It is notable, in this connection, that Comte was the founder of a short-
conflicting objectives pursued by those writing on it over time, and the lived religion, in which the object of worship was not the deity of the
way in which such factors shape our understanding of the actual event monotheistic faiths but humanity.
at stake, and of the nature of history itself. There are distinct anticipations of positivism in ancient philosophy.
Questions of historiography include the following: Although the relationship of Protagoras—a 5th-century-BCE Sophist—
-Who writes history, with what agenda in mind, and towards what for example, to later positivistic thought was only a distant one, there
ends? was a much more pronounced similarity in the classical skeptic Sextus
-How accurate can a historian ever hope to be, analyzing past events Empiricus, who lived at the turn of the 3rd century CE, and in Pierre
from the vantage point of the historian's present? Bayle, his 17th-century reviver. Moreover,
-Does the historian's own perspective, impacted as it undoubtedly is by the medieval nominalist William of Ockham had clear affinities with
gender, age, national and ideological affiliation, etc., contribute to an modern positivism. An 18th-century forerunner who had much in
"agenda" that the historian's work is playing into, unwittingly or common with the positivistic antimetaphysics of the following century
consciously? was the German thinker Georg Lichtenberg.
-What about the types of sources, both primary and secondary, an (Retrieved in: https://www.britannica.com/topic/positivism)
historian chooses to base his or her work upon? Do they too contribute
to the above-mentioned "agenda"? * Positivism is a philosophical system deeply rooted in science and
-Does the very selection of sources (and, by extension, the decision to mathematics. It’s based on the view that whatever exists can be
exclude certain other sources) prejudice the outcome of the historian's verified through experiments, observation, and mathematical/logical
work in certain ways? et cetera... proof. Everything else is nonexistent. In addition, positivists usually
As you can tell, the underlying sentiment of historiography is one of believe that scientific progress will eradicate, or at least sharply
skepticism. This is due to the recognition that historians do have reduce, the problems facing mankind.
agendas and do select sources with the intent of "proving" certain Positivists are almost always strong realists – that is, they believe that
preconceived notions. History is therefore never truly "objective," but what we experience as reality is really out there in the world. In other
always a construct that presents the historian's view of things. At its words, they believe in objective truth. They also tend to deny the
most objective - and even this is debatable - history presents basic influence of things like theoretical and cultural biases that get in the
"facts" (dates, events, etc.); the task of the historian, then, is way of science.
to interpret those facts, the outcome of which (a book, a journal article, Positivism divides all statements into three categories: true, false, and
a lecture -- even a student paper) can never be truly objective, as meaningless (neither true nor false). A meaningless statement is one
interpretation is by definition a subjective mental process. that isn’t clear enough to be tested through positivistic means. For
All this is just a fancy way of saying what you already know, and what example, “The color green sleeps angrily” is a meaningless statement.
has long been articulated in such platitudes as "the victors write the There’s no way you could test whether or not it’s true, which means it
history." Does this render the entire pursuit of history pointless? Do not isn’t true or false. It’s just nonsense. This is an extreme example, of
despair: far from undermining your desire and potential to become a course, but many other sentences fall into this category when their
better writer and student of history, a keen sense of historiography will terms are not clearly defined.
in fact increase your potential in these realms. Asking the types of If a statement does have a meaning, then it must be either true or
questions bulleted above of any historical text you read will push you to false. But that doesn’t mean we necessarily know which one it is. For
delve more deeply into the matter, to explore both the event itself and example, “There are exactly 23.8762 billion domestic cats in the world”
the writer whose work you are reading in greater detail, and to consult has a definite meaning, but no one can say for sure whether it’s true or
additional sources. The outcome may complicate your view of things not. It would be impossible to count all the domestic cats one by one,
but, undoubtedly, will give you a greater appreciation for the many so no one can verify the statement. In principle, though, it could be
factors that contribute to the interpretation of an historical event, verified through scientific observation – which just don’t have the actual
including factors of bias and prejudice - even your own. This means to carry out the study.
appreciation, in turn, will make you a more thoughtful reader and writer Note: Despite its name, positivism has nothing to do with “positive
of history yourself. thinking” or optimism – it’s just a coincidence that they have similar
For the most part, historiography is simply something to keep in the names.
back of your mind when you read a text or sift through your various (Retrieved in: https://philosophyterms.com/positivism/)
sources as you prepare to write. Occasionally, a historiographical
insight is worth a footnote, or perhaps even an aside in the main text of * Positivism is the view that the only authentic knowledge is scientific
your paper (in which case it will already have had an impact upon, and knowledge, and that such knowledge can only come from positive
will have raised the quality of your thinking and writing on history). affirmation of theories through strict scientific method (techniques for
Sometimes, however, a grasp of historiography can be the very point investigating phenomena based on gathering observable, empirical
of an assignment. and measurable evidence, subject to specific principles of reasoning).
(Retrieved in The doctrine was developed in the mid-19th Century by the French
https://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/writing/history/critical/historiography.html) sociologist and philosopher Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857).
The term "positive" in the epistemological sense indicates a "value-
* A writing of history based on the critical examination of sources, the free" or objective approach to the study of humanity that shares much
selection of particulars from the authentic materials, and the synthesis in common with methods employed in the natural sciences, as
of particulars into a narrative that will stand the test of critical methods ; contrasted with "normative", which is indicative of how things should
the principles, theory, and history of historical writing ; the product of or ought to be.
historical writing: a body of historical literature Comte saw the scientific method as replacing Metaphysics in the
(Retrieved in: https://www.merriam- history of thought and Philosophy of Science. His Law of Three
webster.com/dictionary/historiography) Stages (or Universal Rule) sees society as undergoing three
progressive phases in its quest for the truth: the theological (where
POSITIVISM everything is referenced to God, and the divine will subsume human
* Positivism, in Western philosophy, generally, any system that rights); the metaphysical (the post-Enlightenment humanist period,
confines itself to the data of experience and excludes a where the universal rights of humanity are most important); and
priori or metaphysicalspeculations. More narrowly, the term designates the positive (the final scientific stage, where individual rights are more
the thought of the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857). important than the rule of any one person). Comte believed
that Metaphysics and theology should be replaced by a hierarchy of * POSTCOLONIAL STUDIES.
sciences, from mathematics at the base to sociology at the top. Postcolonial studies designates a broad, multidisciplinary field of study
There are five main principles behind Positivism: that includes practitioners from literary, cultural, and media studies,
The logic of inquiry is the same across all sciences (both social and history, geography, art history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology,
natural). and political economy. Postcolonial studies is the analysis of the
The goal of inquiry is to explain and predict, and thereby to phenomenon of imperialism and its aftermath: slavery, colonialism,
discover necessary and sufficient conditions for any phenomenon. nationalism, independence, and migration. Its eclectic disciplinary and
Research should be empirically observable with human senses, and methodological range differentiates postcolonial studies from its
should use inductive logic to develop statements that can be tested. subdivision field of "postcolonial theory," which is dominated by
Science is not the same as common sense, and researchers must be practitioners of literary studies who conceptualize narrative structures,
careful not to let common sense bias their research. representations of cultural difference, and strategies of subject-
Science should be judged by logic, and should be as value-free as formation in colonial and postcolonial texts.
possible. The ultimate goal of science is to produce knowledge, Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) initiated the entry of post-colonial
regardless of politics, morals, values, etc. studies into the metropolitan academies of Europe and the United
Positivism is closely connected States. Said's study draws upon the ideas of Antonio
to Naturalism, Reductionism and Verificationism, and it is Gramsci and Michel Foucault to explore constructions of "the Orient"
very similar in its outlook to Scientism. Later, in the early 20th Century, by European and American politicians, scholars, and artists. The
it gave rise to the stricter and more radical doctrine of Logical intellectual origins of postcolonial studies are more debatable.
Positivism. Positivism is opposed to the Constructivist belief that Deconstructionist or postmodernist practitioners (including Homi
scientific knowledge is constructed by scientists, and Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak) regard Orientalism as the inaugural text of
therefore not discovered from the world through strict scientific method. postcolonial studies, while for Marxist or materialist practitioners
Types of Positivism (including Timothy Brennan, Benita Parry, and E. San Juan, Jr.), the
Logical Positivism (or Logical Empiricism) is a school of philosophy field's origins are much earlier, with the predominantly Marxist anti-
that developed out of Positivism, and attempted to colonial writings of activist-intellectuals that include George
combine Empiricism (the idea that observational evidence is Antonius, Edward Wilmot Blyden, Simon Bolivar, Amilcar Cabral,
indispensable for knowledge of the world) with a version Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, Marcus Garvey, C. L. R. James, Kwame
of Rationalism (the idea that our knowledge includes a component that Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, George Padmore, Roberto Fernández
is not derived from observation). Retamar, Walter Rodney, Jean-Paul Sartre, Léopold Senghor, and Eric
Sociological Positivism is the view, developed from Auguste Comte's Williams.
philosophical Positivism (see above), that the social sciences (as all Many prominent contemporary practitioners originate from Asia (Aijaz
other sciences) should observe strict empirical methods. Today, Ahmad, Bhabha, Said, San Juan, Jr., Spivak); Africa (Chinua Achebe,
although many sociologists would agree that a scientific method is Mahmoud Mamdani, Achille Mbembe, V. Y. Mudimbe, Ngugi wa
an important part of sociology, orthodox positivism is rare. Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka); and Latin America and the Caribbean
Legal Positivism is a school of thought in Philosophy of Law which (E. Kamau Brathwaite, Ariel Dorfman, Eduardo Galeano, Eduoard
holds that laws are rules made (whether deliberately or unintentionally) Glissant, Wilson Harris, Jamaica Kincaid). Of these, the majority have
by human beings, and that there is no relocated to Europe or North America, where there is no intellectual
inherent or necessary connection between the validity conditions of law monopoly on postcolonial intellectual practices but where practitioners
and Ethics or morality. It stands in opposition to the concept of natural enjoy the lion's share of material resources to publish and distribute
law (that there is an essential connection between law and justice or postcolonial academic materials.
morality). (Retrieved in: https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-
Polish Positivism was a political movement in the late 19th Century, religion/philosophy/philosophy-terms-and-concepts/postcolonialism)
drawing its name and much of its ideology from Comte's philosophy
(as well as from the works of British scholars and scientists). It ANNALES SCHOOL OF HISTORY
advocated the exercise of reason before emotion, and argued * Annales School, School of History. Established by Lucien
that Polish independence from Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary Febvre (1878–1956) and Marc Bloch (1886–1944), its roots were in the
must be regained gradually from the ground up. journal Annales: économies, sociétés, civilisations, Febvre’s
(Retrieved in: reconstituted version of a journal he had earlier formed with Marc
https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_positivism.html) Bloch. Under Fernand Braudel’s direction the Annales school
promoted a new form of history, replacing the study of leaders with the
POST COLONIALISM lives of ordinary people and replacing examination of politics,
* Postcolonialism, the historical period or state of affairs representing diplomacy, and wars with inquiries into climate, demography,
the aftermath of Western colonialism; the term can also be used to agriculture, commerce, technology, transportation, and communication,
describe the concurrent project to reclaim and rethink the history and as well as social groups and mentalities. While aiming at a “total
agency of people subordinated under various forms of imperialism. history,” it also yielded dazzling microstudies of villages and regions.
Postcolonialism signals a possible future of overcoming colonialism, Its international influence on historiography has been enormous.
yet new forms of domination or subordination can come in the wake of (Retrieved in: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Annales-school)
such changes, including new forms of global empire. Postcolonialism
should not be confused with the claim that the world we live in now is * In 1929, a new journal called Annales d’historie economique et
actually devoid of colonialism. sociale appeared in France, featuring the work of a new generation of
Postcolonial theorists and historians have been concerned with historians: Lucian Febvre, Marc Bloch, Fernand Braudel, and Ernst
investigating the various trajectories of modernity as understood and Labrousse. Until the turn of the century, traditional history was built
experienced from a range of philosophical, cultural, and historical around the acts and facts of "great men", political and military
perspectives. They have been particularly concerned with engaging personalities who became the stuff of legends: Alexander and Caesar,
with the ambiguous legacy of the Enlightenment—as expressed in Gengis Khan, Louis XIV and Napoleon. These exceptional individuals
social, political, economic, scientific, legal, and cultural thought— defined the scale of history; their deaths signalled a change of era and
beyond Europe itself. The legacy is ambiguous, according to also of books and authors. The movement was in search for “a larger
postcolonial theorists, because the age of Enlightenment was also an and a more human history,” by its rejection of the predominant
age of empire, and the connection between those two historical epochs conceptions of writing history, namely:
is more than incidental. -a focus on political-military history
(Retrieved in: https://www.britannica.com/topic/postcolonialism) -concentrated on the analysis of short periods
-a narrative style of events
* Post-colonialism in literature includes the study of theory and -what they called a “stamp collecting” mentality in collecting facts and
literature as it relates to the colonizer-colonized experience. Edward events
Said is the leading theorist in this field, with Chinua Achebe being one The Annales wanted to integrate insights and methodologies from
of its leading authors. In many works of literature, specifically those anthropology, geography, sociology, economics and psychology. It
coming out of Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, we was interested in longer timespans, the social history of everyday life,
meet characters who are struggling with their identities in the wake and “mentalites” (modes of consciousness). In essence, it was an
of colonization, or the establishment of colonies in another nation. For analytical history which looked at economic and social history in a
example, the British had a colonial presence in India from the 1700s long-term perspective, departing from a traditional event-based
until India gained its independence in 1947. As you can imagine, the historiography. These historians rebelled against traditional
people of India, as well as the characters in Indian novels, must deal historians' obsession with wars and states, the “great” men of
with the economic, political, and emotional effects that the British history, and looking at development as linear. Annales school
brought and left behind. This is true for literature that comes out of any historians examined phenomena and their underlying causes in depth
colonized nation. In many cases, the literature stemming from these with a particular attention to long stretches of time. Peter Burke has
events is both emotional and political. divided the movement in three phases or generations:
Phase 1 (1920-1945): the movement is very radical and subversive
The post-colonial theorist enters these texts through a specific critical and strongly opposes the tradition of political history. [Marc Bloch,
lens, or a specific way of reading a text. That critical lens, post-colonial Lucien Febvre]
theory or post-colonialism, asks the reader to analyze and explain the Phase 2 (1945-1968): the movement becomes a school of thought,
effects that colonization and imperialism, or the extension of power into with its main concepts (structure-conjuncture) and method (serial
other nations, have on people and nations. history of changes over the long term). [Fernand Braudel, Ernst
(Retrieved in: https://study.com/academy/lesson/post-colonialism-in- Labrousse]
literature-definition-theory-examples.html)
Phase 3 (1968-1989): the school becomes more fragmented and shifts
its concern from the socio-economic to the socio-cultural. [Ariel,
Bourdieau, Goffman, etc.]
(Retrieved in:
http://individual.utoronto.ca/bmclean/hermeneutics/braudel_suppl/anna
les_school_dir.htm)