White on Metahistory and the Role of the Historian

TODAY IN PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY: White on Metahistory and the Role of the Historian

Saturday 12 July 2025 is the 97th anniversary of the birth of Hayden V. White (12 July 1928 – 05 March 2018), who was born in Martin, Tennessee, on this date in 1928.

White is particularly known for his book Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe, which has been very influential, but also widely criticized. I discuss some of these influences and some of the criticisms, especially in relation to the role of the historian in the construction of history, which remains ambiguous despite attempts, like those of White, to clarify the problem.

Quora: https://philosophyofhistory.quora.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/r3dudQvGxD
Links: https://jnnielsen.carrd.co/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dMh0_-/
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6U9iy2RUVhSWWxnxsUVzZK?si=7kTE2ZgzQTGow46L7D2gpQ

#philosophy #history #PhilosophyofHistory #HaydenWhite #metahistory #GeoffreyElton #historian