History and Storytelling | Tomorrow Museum

This is an aside titled 'History and Storytelling' dated 11/24/09

“History is in trouble, David McCullough suggests, because most academic historians have forgotten how to tell a story. “That’s what history is,” he says, “a story.”" Washington Post on the problem with history academics “Instead of writing this kind of narrative history, most academic historians, especially at the beginning of their careers, write what might be described as analytic history, specialized and often narrowly focused monographs usually based on their PhD dissertations.”

Posted by Joanne on Nov. 24, 2009

rbc618

Your teaser mis-represents the article. It is by Gordon Wood, the renowned historian of the American Revolution, who has sold popularly and within the academy, and he defends academic, analytical, history writing. The articles asserts, in fact, that there is no problem with history writing. In fact, the McCulloughs of the world owe a debt to the academy.

- a history grad student

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