Approaches and Visions of History

Paper Code: 
25DHIS 811
Credits: 
06
Contact Hours: 
90.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 

This course empowers students to delve into the diverse traditions of historiography across Ancient, Medieval, and Modern periods, while also examining the key figures within each tradition. They will critically analyze the post-modernist approach to history, exploring its implications and challenges. Furthermore, students will evaluate the varied approaches to history, particularly within the context of historical writings on India, thus gaining a comprehensive understanding of the evolving methodologies and perspectives in the field of history.

Course Outcomes: 

Course

Learning outcomes

(at course level)

Learning and teaching strategies

Assessment Strategies

Course Code

Course Title

25DHIS 811

Approaches and Visions of History

(Theory)

 

CO120- Analyze the  concept and types of Historiography

CO121- Critically Assess various traditions of Historiography of Medieval period .

CO122- Analyse the Tradition of Modern Historiography .

CO123- Examine the Post-Modernist Approach to History.

CO124- Assess the various approaches to History

CO125-Contribute effectively in course-specific interaction

Approach in teaching:

Interactive Lectures, Discussion, Tutorials, Reading assignments, Power Point Presentation

 

Learning activities for the students:

Self-learning assignments, Effective questions, Seminar presentation, Giving tasks.

Class test, Semester end examinations, Quiz, Solving problems in tutorials, Assignments, Presentation, Individual and group projects
 
18.00
Unit I: 
Tradition of Historiography – Ancient

Greaco –Roman, Chinese and Indian 

18.00
Unit II: 
Tradition of Historiography – Medieval

Arabic and Persian.

18.00
Unit III: 
Tradition of Historiography – Modern

 Positivist – Ranke, Annales School (Marc Bloch, Lucien, Febvre, Fernand Braudel)

18.00
Unit IV: 
Post Modernist Approach to History

Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida; Impact on historiography

 

18.00
Unit V: 
Approaches to History

Nationalist, Marxist, Cambridge and Subaltern (with reference to historical writings on India)

Essential Readings: 
  • Sreedharan. E, A Textbook of Historiography, Orient Longman Private Limited, 2004.
  • Sreedharan. E, A Manual of Historical Research Methodology, Centre for South Indian Studies, Trivandrum, 2007
References: 
  • William Dray :Perspectives on History
  • C. Behan McCullah: The truth of History
  • The logic of History(Putting Postmodernism in Perspective)
  • Satish K Bajaj : Recent Trends in Historiography, New Delhi,1998
  • Ranjeet Guha (ed.): Subaltern Studies,Vol.1,2,3&4,Oxford University Press,New Delhi,1982
  • V S Pathak: Ancient Historians of India, Gorakhpur,1984
  • U N Ghoshal : Studies in Indian History and Culture
  • V S Agrawala :Itihas Darshan (in Hindi), Varanasi
  • Buddha Prakash :Itihas Darshan (in Hindi), Lucknow, 1962
  • G C Pande (ed.):Itihas-Swaroop evam siddhanth (in Hindi), Jaipur
  • G A Cohen :Karl Marx’s Theory of history:Adefense (Oxford 1978)
  • M G Murphey : Our Knowledge of the Historical Past(Indianapolis 1973)
  • S Clark :”The Annales Historians” , in Q Skinner ed.The  Return of Grand Theory In The Human Sciences (Cambridge  1985)
  • Traian Stoianovitch: French Historical Method: Thae Annales Paradigm (Ithaca, New York, 1976)
  • Maurice Aymard and harbans Mukhia, eds.,French Studies in History (New Delhi 1988)
  • Peter Burke ed.,A New Kind of History: From the Writings of Lucien Febvre(London 1983), Essays 1,2 and 3.
  • Mark Foster: Foucault, Marxism and History
  • Hayden White: “ Foucault Decoded: Notes from Underground”. History and Theory,12,1973.
  • Sharma. Tej Ram, Historiography, A History of Historical Writing, Concept publishing company, New Delhi, 2005
  • Claus. Peter & Marriott John, History An introduction to theory, Method and Practice, Second Edition, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York, 2017
  • Hester Ryan, Historical Research, Theory and Method, ED-Tech Press, United Kingdom, 2018
  •  
  • E-Resources:
  • Tradition of Historiography – Ancient : Greaco –Roman, Chinese and Indian
  • http://niilmuniversity.in/coursepack/humanities/HISTORIOGRAPHY.pdf
  • Tradition of Historiography – Medieval : Arabic and Persian.
  • https://ddceutkal.ac.in/Syllabus/MA_history/Paper_07_N.pdf
  • Annales School
  • http://niilmuniversity.in/coursepack/humanities/HISTORIOGRAPHY.pdf
  • Post Modernist Approach to History
  • http://niilmuniversity.in/coursepack/humanities/HISTORIOGRAPHY.pdf
  • Michel Foucault
  • https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/5004/1/MWG-007B2E-U4.pdf
  • Jacques Derrida
  • https://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/5012/1/MWG-007B2E-U3.pdf
  • Approaches to History – Nationalist, Marxist, Cambridge and Subaltern, Gender (with reference to historical writings on India)
  • https://ddceutkal.ac.in/Syllabus/MA_history/Paper_07_N.pdf
Academic Year: 
2025-26
  • Printer-friendly version
  • PDF version