The philosopher George Santayana once remarked that “History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren’t there.”  Is he correct?  How does the historian navigate between the “facts” of their study and the demand that they must also construct an engaging narrative?  Can scholars ever really achieve the Rankean ideal of describing the past “as it actually was” (wie es eigentlich gewesen)?  This question and many more will be explored in our seminar this semester.  Historiography is the study of how history is written and the various methods and evidence used to reconstruct the past.

HGP 471: Syllabus for Senior Seminar in Historiography

Final Essay Guidelines for Senior Seminar on Historiography

Prof. Hilwig’s Writing Tips for Academic Essays