| CODE | PHI5108 | ||||||
| TITLE | Philosophy, History and Historiography | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Philosophy | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The philosophical interest in history is at least threefold: (1) On the speculative plane, it looks at the significance and purpose or finality, if any, of human history in general. Since Hegel, Marx and Nietzsche, philosophers have produced, criticised or rejected teleological, reductionist or cyclical metanarratives of human history; (2) In a critical sense, philosophy has engaged with developments within history as an academic discipline. Theoretical concerns with themes such as causation, objectivity, truth (facts), evidence and representation have underpinned approaches to history ranging from the nineteenth century’s positivistic claim that history as a science can and should objectively reconstruct the past “as it really was”, to postmodern views of history as a partial and subjective narrative construct based on literary tropes; (3) Theoretical considerations about history and historiography come into play in metaphilosophical discussions, particularly with regard to the methods employed in the study and writing of the history of philosophy, the history of ideas and intellectual history. This study-unit will explore these areas of philosophical inquiry and their intersections through the works of philosophers such as Foucault, Lyotard, Derrida and Agamben as well as historians such as Evans, White, and Skinner and the ‘Cambridge School’ of intellectual history. Study-unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to familiarise students with the field of philosophical inquiry concerning history and historiography. Special attention will be given to the application of theoretical approaches to the history of philosophy, with particular reference to the history of political thought. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - examine key philosophical and theoretical themes as applied to history and historiography; - explain the engagement of certain contemporary philosophers with critical and speculative philosophy of history; - compare and contrast the views of certain contemporary thinkers on the study and writing of history; - evaluate the use of historical sources in their works of select contemporary philosophers. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyse different theoretical approaches that are applied to the understanding and writing of history, including the history of philosophy itself; - apply a set of critical thinking skills to the reading of primary and secondary historical texts, particularly those concerning the history of ideas and the history of philosophy; - produce a scholarly research paper on key philosophical aspects of the study of history and historiography. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Select articles from History and Theory (available through HyDi) and other academic journals will be indicated. At the beginning of the study-unit, students will be assigned a list of readings from the works of contemporary philosophers. Background texts: Carr, E.H., What is History? With a new introduction by R.J. Evans. Basingstoke: Evans, R.J., In Defence of History. London: Granta Books, 1997 (2000).Palgrave, 1986 (2001) (originally published in 1961). Jenkins, K., Rethinking History. London: Routledge, 1991. Graham, G., The Shape of the Past: A Philosophical Approach to History. Oxford: Oxford U.P., 1997. Skinner, Q., ‘Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas’, in History and Theory, 8:1 (1969), pp. 3-53. Southgate, B., Why Bother with History? Essex: Longman, 2000. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Jean-Paul De Lucca |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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