Selvages and Biases : The Fabric of History in American Culture / Michael Kammen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kammen, Michael, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (352 p.) : 33 halftones

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In this distinguished volume, Michael Kammen addresses three closely related themes concerning the state of historical inquiry in America—themes with which he has been deeply engaged during the past decade. He first explores how history as a professional discipline has changed over the past century. In the process, he treats the relationship of the historian's craft to American nationalism, reflects on the uses and value of historical significance of historiography as a measure of cultural change. He shows how Americans have manipulated the past for social and ideological reasons, how memories of the national and regional past have conflicted with the realities of historicalo experience, and how Americans have simultaneously become more present-minded while professing a deeper concern for their heritage. Finally, Kammen explains why he believes historians should pursue new approaches to American cultural history, and to state and local history as well.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Chapter 1. Historical Knowledge and Understanding

Chapter 2. On Knowing the Past

Chapter 3. Vanitas and the Historian’s Vocation

Chapter 4. Clio and the Changing Fashions: Some Patterns in Current American Historiography

Chapter 5. Extending the Reach of American Cultural History: A Retrospective Glance and a Prospectus

Chapter 6. Challenges and Opportunities in Writing State and Local History

Chapter 7. History Isn’t What It Once Was

Chapter 8. Changing Perceptions of the Life Cycle in American Thought and Culture

Chapter 9. Moses Coit Tyler: The First Professor of American History in the United States

Chapter 10. “This, Here, and Soon”: Johan Huizinga’s Esquisse of American Culture

Chapter 11. Uses and Abuses of the Past: A Bifocal Perspective

Chapter 12. Heritage, Memory, and Hudson Valley Traditions

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

1-5017-3682-5

OCLC:

1178769143