Hayden White Contributor(s): Paul, Herman (Author) |
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ISBN: 0745650147 ISBN-13: 9780745650142 Publisher: Polity Press OUR PRICE: $24.70 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2011 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | History & Surveys - Modern - History | Historiography |
LCCN: 2020275231 |
Series: Key Contemporary Thinkers |
Physical Information: 0.7" H x 5.9" W x 8.9" (0.75 lbs) 224 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: This new book offers a clear and accessible exposition of Hayden White's thought. In an engaging and wide-ranging analysis, Herman Paul discusses White's core ideas and traces the development of these ideas from the mid-1950s to the present. Starting with White's medievalist research and youthful fascination for French existentialism, Paul shows how White became increasingly convinced that historical writing is a moral activity. He goes on to argue that the critical concepts that have secured White's fame - trope, plot, discourse, figural realism - all stem from his desire to explicate the moral claims and perceptions underlying historical writing. White emerges as a passionate thinker, a restless rebel against scientism, and a defender of existentialist humanist values. This innovative introduction will appeal to students and scholars across the humanities, and help develop a critical understanding of an increasingly important thinker. |