How to be a Historian

What is unique about this volume is that is explores the history of historical studies through the prism of ‘scholarly personae’ (models of virtue, embodying how to be a historian). It offers a stimulating new perspective on the unity, or disunity, of historical scholarship as it existed in nineteenth- and twentieth-century.

What makes a good historian? When historians raise this question, as they have done for centuries, they often do so to highlight that certain personal attitudes or dispositions are indispensable for studying the past. Yet their views on what virtues, skills, or competencies historians need most differ remarkably, as do their models of how to be a historian (‘scholarly personae’).

This volume explores why scholarly personae were, and are, so important to historians as to generate lots of debate. Why do historians seldom agree on the marks of a good historian? What impact do these disagreements have on historical research, teaching, and outreach? And what does this tell about the unity, or disunity, of the field called historical studies?

In addressing these questions, How to be a historian develops a fascinating new perspective on the history of historiography. It challenges conventional narratives of professionalisation by demonstrating that the identity of the ‘professional’ was often contested. At the same time, it shows that personae could be remarkably stable, especially with regard to their race, class, and gender assumptions.

With chapters by Monika Baár, Ian Hunter, Q. Edward Wang, and other recognized specialists, How to be a historian covers historical studies across Europe, North America, Africa, and East Asia, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in liberal democracies and authoritarian regimes alike.

The volume will appeal not only to historians of historiography, but to all historians who occasionally wonder: What kind of a historian do I want to be?

This volume offers a stimulating new perspective on the history of historical studies. Through the prism of ‘scholarly personae’, it explores why historians care about attitudes or dispositions that they consider necessary for studying the past, yet often disagree about what virtues, skills, or competencies are most important. More specifically, the volume explains why models of virtue known as ‘personae’ have always been contested, yet also can prove remarkably stable, especially with regard to their race, class, and gender assumptions. Covering historical studies across Europe, North America, Africa, and East Asia, How to be a historian will appeal not only to historians of historiography, but to all historians who occasionally wonder: What kind of a historian do I want to be?