The distant past is not often illustrated with plentiful descriptions of everyday life. Instead, the picture has to be put together from different sources, piece by piece, like a jigsaw. But there are often still gaps, which can be filled with historically informed creativity.
E.H. Carr’s belief that the histories we get depend on the questions we ask is more relevant than ever.
How the index helps us to understand, categorise and engage with the world.
Plans to measure the impact of historical research as if it were a science will mean fewer history books that excite the general reader.
Will current crises make it possible to study the ‘uniquely evil’ Third Reich as if it were just another period of the past?
A classic work of history, now 20 years old, reminds us of the power of continuing education for all.
Historians are tethered to the archive, but sometimes fixing the gaps requires the techniques of a novelist.
The great native historian of Africa was baptised by Pope Leo X on 6 January 1520.
History can teach, inspire, warn, include and exclude; its uses change to fit the present moment.
To imagine the beliefs and desires of our fellow beings is fundamental to the pursuit of history. Such empathy is needed now more than ever.
