I would imagine that this is largely due to the influence of Carlo Ginzburg and the Italian school of microhistory. But what about other societies that had large-scale literary output and written cultures (ex: East Asia and Middle East)? Happy to be corrected if there are such publications on this topic. (Recs for fascinating microhistories in general welcomed!!)
Hoping somebody could point me toward a microhistory about ducks or waterfowl? Something along the lines of a Mary Roach, John McPhee or a Sy Montgomery title, pop science
I could have sworn I saw one on Goodreads recently but all digging has found me nothing so far
Literally anything nonfiction and relatively light for adults about ducks/waterfowl - I'm just curious about them and I'm not like STUDYING them so I don't need super in-depth analysis lol
Hello,
recently I got myself interested in microhistory and read some of the classics (Zemon Davis, Carlo Ginzburg, Gene a. Brucker...). my background is a bit more artsy and I thought it might be interesting to try and find connections. What I'm curious about is if there is some kind of microhistory of objects. I found an essay by I. Kopytoff which gave me a nice theoretical start about how to think about 'biographies of things', (although it's from `86~), but what really looking for is something a bit more microhistoryish and less anthropological theory. I wonder if there is there something like The Return of Martin Guerre but say, about a 16th/17th c. painting or sculpture, ideally not a famous masterpiece but a more ordinary object.
It might be too specific? in any case I'm very much open to venturing into neighbouring topics (maybe history of books? sacred objects?)
It's my first time here hope I'm doing it right! <3
Hello, I have been dwelling into history lately and one thought which kept coming to my mind was why hasn’t microhistory been relevant in the writing of a historical book based on primary source. I have tried finding it out, unfortunately, I am not able to understand the underlying problem or any drawback which stops a historian from incorporating microhistory. I would be glad if someone could help me out to understand the difference. Thanks
Other than the classic The Cheese and the Worms
microhistory
noun: The study of the past on a small scale, such as an individual neighborhood or town, as a <xref>case study</xref> for general trends
Word of the day Provided by : wordnik
Wiki defines microhistory as “the intensive historical investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (most often a single event, community of a village, family or person).”
I just finished and loved The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons by Sam Kean and Stiff by Mary Roach. Any other recommendations along those lines — doesn’t have to be medical history!
Hello! I came across this LibGuide recently and I'm not sure if it'll be of use to anyone out there :) It's a LibGuide on microhistories written by BIPOC authors, and during this climate of uncertainty with ethnic tensions and discussions about EDI etc., I thought this was an admirable attempt to document some microhistories available that comes directly from BIPOC authors. Here's the link: https://guides.library.ubc.ca/c.php?g=716063
Author's description: "It's a LibGuide that still has a lot of space for growth, and I'd love to have further inputs if y'all have ideas on other books and resources that I should include. Nonetheless, I do hope this would be somewhat meaningful in the greater scheme of things."
Hopefully everyone's been taking care of yourself over these difficult times. Take care, and I'll continue to be looking out for all the amazing posts that y'all been sharing :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY4J-JQO6dA&feature=youtu.be
So, i've decided to change up my format of my videos for my latest video. I decided to do a runthrough of all the best memes on r/HistoryMemes which I don't believe is done elsewhere. Few things to note! I'm aware the content is not that funny, I did this as a proof of concept, and if I was to go ahead with this format, i'd get stuff that's actually more entertaining.
SELF REVIEW: The timing is off and the transitions are a bit stilted but this is the first of a new format for me, so I expect practice makes perfect? The computer voice isn't good in this but I do have confidence it can be used effectively so I'm going to try to rework it if I continue with this format! If it eventually doesn't work, i'll have to supplement with voiceovers (god that's going to be cringey). Thumbnail definitely needs work, i did it very quickly on a train and it shows.
Any help/criticism/advice would be welcomed!
Hey everyone,
I had a question about "microhistory." I keep hearing this word everywhere, and I'm not sure I fully understand what it means. In particular, I've heard the term said a lot of Alain Corbin (who I really like). Well, what makes him a micro-historian? Is it just because he writes about not-well-known individuals and locales, rather than writing national history?
Also, what would you call a study that only looks at a short period of time? Let's say a monograph that only focuses on a three-month period (a revolution, for example). Is that also a micro-history?
I hope this is clear... It's hard to get good information about the history of historical methods, so I was hoping you could lead me in the right direction!
I like reading about pretty much all topics so long as it’s weirdly specific and really well written.
SO, i've decided to upload my fourth video tonight! I've been responding to earlier criticism of my videos for lack of a human voice, so, I've added my own personal (and very cringey) voice. Let me know!
TARGET AUDIENCE: People who would like the most random, beautiful gems that the internet can offer, people who like semi-review videos
SELF REVIEW: I have a bad mic and that needs to be fixed if i'm going to continue doing voiceovers. In addition to this, I feel like the timing might be the slightest bit off? I'd really love to hear your comments on the timing, thumbnail, music, voiceover and general feel of the video. Would you watch it?
Like a lot of folks, I got interested in history by reading pretty broad, macro works of history. A book on the history of ancient Greece, Rome, the crusades, that sort of thing.
But I notice that there seems to be a trend of academic historians focusing on very narrow social/economic history. Is there any reason for this? At what point did social/economic microhistories become the norm?
Or do I just have a mistaken impression of the field?
Hi everyone! I am participating in the Book Riot read harder challenge and my random pick this month was to read a microhistory. I am quite inexperienced with this genre and was looking for some suggestions on an enjoyable one.
Thanks!
I'm a master's student in the beginning stages of my thesis. I study the 19th century American South, particularly West and Central Alabama. I plan to take a microhistorical approach. I've read The Cheese and the Worms by Carlo Ginzburg, and am about to start The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis. Are there any other seminal works you would recommend? I'd especially like to read an American microhistory, though I know the format wasn't used as widely by Americanists.
Since I caused a bit of a stir last time I asked a question, I thought I'd try my hand again and see if I can get the same level of discussion.
Many people have read The Cheese and the Worms, some have read The Return of Martin Guerre, and others have read The Burgermeister's Daughter. Whatever you've read, these books could be classified as Microhistories or histories on a very small scale about specific individuals rather histories on a large scale about general groups or society as a whole.
So, what exactly is a Microhistory? What makes the Microhistory different than the Local Historian's craft? What's the difference between a Microhistorical monograph and a biography? Is there even a difference? Are there any remarkable Microhistorical works in your field? And how do Microhistories influence your research?
Some favorites of mine are Mary Roach's books, Bee Wilson's "First Bite", anything about the Romanov dynasty, and Dan Jurafsky's "The Language of Food". (Please [nicely] let me know if this post violates any rules, I'm new to Redditing :) )
