Constructing the Past Essays in Historical Methodology [Paperback]

This book presents a selection of ten significant contributions of essays to French historiography.This book presents a selection of ten of the most significant contributions of essays to Faire de l'histoire, a major three-volume exposition of French historiography first published in 1974. These essays represent the best of the 'Annales' tradition, including Emmanuel le Roy Ladurie, Fran?ois Furet and Georges Duby.This book presents a selection of ten of the most significant contributions of essays to Faire de l'histoire, a major three-volume exposition of French historiography first published in 1974. These essays represent the best of the 'Annales' tradition, including Emmanuel le Roy Ladurie, Fran?ois Furet and Georges Duby.This 1985 book presents a selection of ten of the most significant contributions to Faire de l'histoire, a major three-volume exposition of the fresh state of French historiography first published in 1974. All the essays were commissioned from historians representing the best of the 'Annales' tradition, including Emmanuel le Roy Ladurie, Fran?ois Furet and Georges Duby. The first five essays concentrate upon the physical world, and deal with some of the more familiar aspects of 'new history'; the second half of the book is concerned with the unconscious world of mentalit?s, the network of belief, symbol and cultural practice that is attracting the attention of historians in ever-increasing numbers. In an introduction Colin Lucas places the essays in this collection within the long-term development of French historical study, and assesses not only its great strengths but also some of the doubts and dilemmas to which it has given rise.Introduction Colin Lucas; 1. Quantitative methods in history Francois Furet (translated by David Denby); 2. Economic history: past achievements and future prospects Pierre Chaunu (translated by Martin Thom); 3. Constructing Marxist history Pierre Vilar (translated by Ian Patterson); 4. The history of climate Emmanulcu