What is History? Objectivity, Temporality, and Modernity

What is history, and how do we write it? In this episode, we explore how historians have approached their craft over the past century, focusing on concepts of objectivity, temporality, and the evolution of historical discourse. We examine Peter Novick's exploration of American historians' struggle to present the past "as it really happened" and Reinhart Koselleck's groundbreaking theories on historical time, social reality, and the language of history. How has the aspiration for historical objectivity evolved? What makes modernity a product of our awareness of history itself? Join us as we bridge foundational ideas in historiography with contemporary cultural studies and uncover how history not only records the past but shapes our understanding of society and knowledge. What is history? Historical objectivity in historiography Reinhart Koselleck historical theory Peter Novick and American historians Modernity and historical awareness Temporality in historical process Social reality in history Evolution of historical discourse History as a discipline vs discourse Historiography and modernism Peter Novick That Noble Dream Reinhart Koselleck Begriffsgeschichte History's role in modernity Historical temporality and acceleration Conflict and ethical reflection in history Language of historians and its evolution Barthes, Foucault, Derrida on history Social structures in historical analysis Historicism and the concept of modernity Writing history as a cultural practice