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Echoes from Below

Unveiling the lived experiences and societal forces that shape the past, exploring the rich tapestry of human existence beyond the narratives of elites.

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What is Social History?

History from Below

Social history, often termed "history from below," is a significant field within historical scholarship that focuses on the lived experiences of ordinary people in the past. It seeks to understand societal change not solely through the actions of prominent leaders or elites (the traditional "Great Man" view), but by examining the dynamics originating from within society itself.[1] This approach aims to illuminate the broader societal structures and the collective agency of populations.[5]

Scope and Influence

Emerging prominently in the 1960s, social history rapidly gained traction, influencing historical departments globally, particularly in the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, and the United States. In the US, between 1975 and 1995, the proportion of history professors identifying with social history increased significantly, while political historians saw a decline.[1] This field's expansion reflects a methodological shift towards incorporating diverse social strata and experiences into historical analysis.

Evolution of the Field

While rooted in Marxist concepts of historical materialism, social history has evolved, incorporating insights from the cultural turn and linguistic turn. This has led to a diversification of its sub-fields and approaches, including social liberal and critical theory perspectives, broadening its analytical framework beyond purely economic determinism.[3]

Origins and Development

The "New" Social History

The popular conception of "new" social history often traces its origins to the 1960s, significantly influenced by scholars like E.P. Thompson. Thompson's seminal work, The Making of the English Working Class (1963), championed an approach he termed "history from below," critiquing the traditional focus on elites and advocating for the study of the masses.[4] This movement drew inspiration from the French Annales School, which emphasized long-term social and economic structures over events and individuals.[4]

Marxist Roots and Divergences

The intellectual lineage of social history is deeply connected to Marxist thought, particularly historical materialism. Early proponents, such as members of the Cambridge Communist Party Historians Group, consciously revived Marxist approaches. Karl Marx's The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852) is considered a foundational text for its societal-wide perspective and attention to everyday people.[3] However, Thompson's later career and the broader intellectual shifts of the 1970s and 1980s, including the cultural and linguistic turns, led to a gradual departure from strict Marxist orthodoxy, incorporating a wider range of theoretical frameworks and focusing more on cultural and social experiences.[3]

The Phrase "History from Below"

The phrase "history from below" gained prominence through E.P. Thompson's 1966 essay in The Times Literary Supplement, though it originated earlier in French scholarship with Georges Lefebvre. The term emphasizes the study of "the masses and not of starlets," seeking to capture the perspectives of those often excluded from traditional historical narratives.[7] While initially associated with a Marxist agenda, the field's definition became more ambiguous as it moved away from historical materialism, sometimes focusing on more intimate aspects of life.[13]

Key Subfields

Labor & Ethnic Histories

Labor history delves into the social history of workers and labor unions, often employing empirical and comparative methods. It has been a dynamic field, engaging with debates on class, gender, and populism.[52] Ethnic history, particularly vital in North America, examines the experiences of various ethnic groups, often utilizing comparative approaches and critical race studies.[41]

Women's & Gender History

Women's history emerged forcefully in the 1970s, focusing on the experiences of ordinary women and critiquing earlier social histories for their male-centric biases. Gender history, conceptualized by Joan W. Scott, analyzes the construction and evolution of femininity and masculinity, often integrating cultural analysis with everyday experiences.[57]

Family & Education Histories

The history of the family, closely linked to anthropology and sociology, emerged as a distinct field in the 1970s, emphasizing demographic patterns and public policy. Studies like Tilly and Scott's Women, Work, and Family broke new ground.[62] History of education has seen shifts from celebratory accounts to critical analyses of schooling's role in social structures and inequalities.[69]

Urban & Rural Histories

The "new urban history," emerging in the mid-20th century, uses quantitative methods to study cities as processes, focusing on the experiences of urban populations rather than elites. Stephan Thernstrom's work on Newburyport is a landmark example.[78] Rural history, distinct from agricultural history, focuses on the social dimensions of rural life, examining community structures and the impact of societal changes.[83]

Methodology and Sources

Quantitative Approaches

The study of ordinary people was significantly advanced by the adoption of sophisticated quantitative and demographic methods in the 1960s. Social historians frequently utilize census data, local registers (births, marriages, deaths), tax records, and theoretical models from sociology, such as those concerning social mobility.[39] This analytical rigor allows for the examination of large-scale societal trends and patterns.

Oral History and Diverse Sources

Beyond quantitative data, social history embraces a wider array of sources and methods than traditional historiography. Oral history is particularly crucial, providing direct access to the perspectives and experiences of individuals whose voices might otherwise be absent from archival records.[9] This inclusive approach aims for a more comprehensive understanding of the past.

Connecting Structures and Experiences

Charles Tilly articulated key tasks for the social historian: documenting large structural changes, reconstructing the experiences of ordinary people within those changes, and establishing the connections between the two.[16] This synthesis is central to social history's aim of providing a nuanced and multi-layered account of the past.

National Contexts

British and Irish Social History

In the UK, social history is strongly associated with E.P. Thompson and the "history from below" movement, often characterized by a political impetus and a conscious opposition to traditional elite-focused history.[14] Journals like History Workshop Journal and Past & Present have been influential platforms.

American Social History

In the United States, "history from the bottom-up" is often termed "people's history," notably associated with Howard Zinn. The field emphasizes democratic inclusiveness and the systematic study of ordinary people's lives, often employing quantitative social science methods.[17] The Social Science History Association plays a key role in fostering interdisciplinary scholarship.

French Social History

Social history has dominated French historiography since the 1920s, largely due to the influence of the Annales School. This tradition synthesizes historical patterns from social, economic, and cultural dimensions, utilizing diverse sources including medical reports and family studies.[21]

German Social History

In post-WWII West Germany, social history, or Gesellschaftsgeschichte, emerged as a successor to discredited national history. Led by figures like Hans-Ulrich Wehler and the Bielefeld School, it applied modernization theories and social science methods to analyze German society, though later faced critiques for its structural focus.[22]

Key Figures

British Pioneers

E.P. Thompson is central for his "history from below" approach. Eric Hobsbawm also made significant contributions to labor history and the theory of social history, co-founding influential journals.[3]

American Scholars

Howard Zinn is renowned for his "people's history." Charles Tilly provided influential frameworks for social historians, emphasizing the connection between structural change and individual experience.[16] Stephan Thernstrom pioneered quantitative urban history.

French Influences

The Annales School, with figures like Georges Lefebvre, laid crucial groundwork for social history's focus on broad societal structures and the lives of ordinary people.[7]

German Thinkers

Hans-Ulrich Wehler and Jรผrgen Kocka were leading figures of the Bielefeld School, advocating for a "history of society" (Gesellschaftsgeschichte) integrating social science theories.[22]

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References

References

  1.  See "History Online:Teachers of History" accessed 1/21/2014
  2.  E. P. Thompson, รขย€ยœHistory From Below,รขย€ย The Times Literary Supplement, April 7, 1966.
  3.  Staughton Lynd, Doing History From the Bottom Up: On E. P. Thompson, Howard Zinn, and rebuilding the labor movement from below (Haymarket, eBook, 2014).
  4.  L. A. Clarkson, "The writing of Irish economic and social history since 1968." Economic History Review 33.1 (1980): 100-111. DOI: 10.2307/2595549 online
  5.  . See Journal of Social History
  6.  Lynn Hunt and Victoria Bonnell, eds., Beyond the Cultural Turn (1999).
  7.  Jรƒยผrgen Kocka, Industrial Culture and Bourgeois Society: Business, Labor, and Bureaucracy in Modern Germany, 1800-1918 (New York: Berghahn Books, 1999), pp 275-97, at p. 276
  8.  Michael S. Cross, "Social History," Canadian Encyclopedia (2008) online
  9.  Michael S. Cross and Gregory S. Kealey, eds. Readings in Canadian Social History (5 vol., 1983), articles by scholars
  10.  Michael Horn and Sabourin, Ronald, eds. Studies in Canadian Social History (1974). 480 pp. articles by scholars
  11.  Stephan Thernstrom, ed. Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups (1980) excerpt and text search
  12.  Paul R. Magocsi, ed. Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples (1999) excerpt and text search
  13.  See Immigration and Ethnic History Society
  14.  See American Italian Historical Association
  15.  See American Jewish Historical Society and journal
  16.  See PAHA website
  17.  see H-ETHNIC website
  18.  Neville Kirk, "Challenge, Crisis, and Renewal? Themes in the Labour History of Britain, 1960รขย€ย“2010," Labour History Review, Aug 2010, Vol. 75 Issue 2, pp 162-180
  19.  Katrina Navickas, "What happened to class? New histories of labour and collective action in Britain," Social History, May 2011, Vol. 36 Issue 2, pp 192-204
  20.  Richard Price, "Histories of Labour and Labour History," Labour History Review, Dec 2010, Vol. 75 Issue 3, pp 263-270
  21.  See American Women's History: A Research Guide
  22.  Tamara K. Hareven, "The history of the family and the complexity of social change," American Historical Review, Feb 1991, Vol. 96 Issue 1, pp. 95-124
  23.  Cynthia Comacchio, "'The History of Us': Social Science, History, and the Relations of Family in Canada," Labour / Le Travail, Fall 2000, Vol. 46, pp. 167-220, with very thorough coverage.
  24.  see Journal of Family History, quarterly since 1976
  25.  Thomas Dublin, "Women, Work, and Family: The View from the United States," Journal of Women's History, Autumn 99, Vol. 11 Issue 3, pp 17-21
  26.  D'Ann Campbell, Women at War with America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era (1984) online
  27.  Mary Jo Maynes and Ann Beth Waltner, The Family: A World History (Oxford University Press, 2012) online review
  28.  Joseph M. Hawes and N. Ray Hiner, "Hidden in Plain View: The History of Children (and Childhood) in the Twenty-First Century," Journal of the History of Childhood & Youth, Jan 2008, Vol. 1 Issue 1, pp 43-49
  29.  For a counterattack see Diane Ravitch, The Revisionists Revised: A Critique of the Radical Attack on the Schools (1978)
  30.  John Hardin Best, ed. Historical inquiry in education: A research agenda (American Educational Research Association, 1983); The most comprehensive overview of the historiography of American education, with essays by 13 scholars.
  31.  Deirdre Raftery, Jane McDermid, and Gareth Elwyn Jones, "Social Change and Education in Ireland, Scotland and Wales: Historiography on Nineteenth-century Schooling," History of Education, July/Sept 2007, Vol. 36 Issue 4/5, pp 447-463
  32.  David A. Reeder, Schooling in the City: Educational History and the Urban Variable," Urban History, May 1992, Vol. 19 Issue 1, pp 23-38
  33.  Juergen Herbst, "The History of Education: State of the Art at the Turn of the Century in Europe and North America," Paedagogica Historica 35, no. 3 (1999)
  34.  Michael Sanderson, "Educational and Economic History: The Good Neighbours," History of Education, July /Sept 2007, Vol. 36 Issue 4/5, pp 429-445
  35.  Stephan Thernstrom and Richard Sennett, eds. Nineteenth-century Cities: Essays in the New Urban History (1970)
  36.  Michael Frisch, "Poverty and Progress: A Paradoxical Legacy," Social Science History, Spring 1986, Vol. 10 Issue 1, pp 15-22
  37.  see excerpt and text search
  38.  They are reviewed in Wolfgang Reinhard, "New Contributions to Comparative Urban History," Journal of Early Modern History (1997) 1#2 pp 176-181.
  39.  Margaret Marsh and Lizabeth Cohen. "Old Forms, New Visions: New Directions in United States Urban History," Pennsylvania History, Winter 1992, Vol. 59 Issue 1, pp 21-28
  40.  Lionel Frost, and Seamus O'Hanlon, "Urban History and the Future of Australian Cities," Australian Economic History Review March 2009, Vol. 49 Issue 1, pp 1-18
  41.  Alun Howkins, The Death Rural England (2003) excerpt and text search
  42.  Hal S. Barron, "Rediscovering the Majority: The New Rural History of the Nineteenth-Century North," Historical Methods, Fall 1986, Vol. 19 Issue 4, pp 141-152
  43.  Jeffrey L. Pasley, Andrew W. Robertson, and David Waldstreicher, eds. Beyond the Founders: New Approaches to the Political History of the Early American Republic (2004)
  44.  Romain Huret, "All in the Family Again? Political Historians and the Challenge of Social History," Journal of Policy History, July 2009, Vol. 21 Issue 3, pp 239-263
A full list of references for this article are available at the Social history Wikipedia page

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