Jörn Rüsen is Professor Emeritus of General History and Historical Culture at Witten/Herdecke University. He has also taught at the Universities of Berlin, Bochum and Bielefeld and was Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Essen. His books and articles have been translated into twenty different languages. Dr. Rüsen is the Founding Editor of the Berghahn Books series Making Sense of History.
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. What is Metahistory?
Chapter 2. The Foundation of Historical Thinking
Chapter 3. History as Academic Discipline
Chapter 4. A Systematic Approach: Categories, Theories, Concepts
Chapter 5. Methodology: The Rules of the Historical Method
Chapter 6. Topics: How We Write History
Chapter 7. The Basis of Historical Culture
Chapter 8. Practical History: Learning, Understanding, Humanity
Final Reflections: Finding Reason Between Meaning and Meaninglessness
Bibliography
Index
As one of the premier historical thinkers of his generation, Jörn Rüsen has made enormous contributions to the methods and theoretical framework of history as it is practiced today. In Evidence and Meaning, Rüsen surveys the seismic changes that have shaped the historical profession over the last half-century, while offering a clear, economical account of his theory of history. To traditional historiography Rüsen brings theoretical insights from philosophy, narrative theory, cultural studies, and the social sciences, developing an intricate but robust model of "historical thinking" as both a cognitive discipline and a cultural practice-one that is susceptible neither to naïve empiricism nor radical relativism.