* Surveys the evolution of historical thought in the Western World from biblical times to the present day. * Provides students with the background to contemporary historical debates and approaches. * Serves as a useful reference for researchers and teachers. * Includes chapters by 24 leading historians. .

List of Contributors. Acknowledgments. Introduction: The Cultural History of Historical Thought. (Lloyd Kramer and Sarah). Part I: The Pre-Modern Origins of Western Historical Thought. 1. Historiography in Ancient Israel. (John Van Seters). 2. Historical Thought in Ancient Greece. (Philip A. Stadter). 3. Historical Thought in Ancient Rome. (J. E. Lendon). 4. Historical Thought in Medieval Europe. (Gabrielle M. Spiegel). 5. Historical Thought in the Renaissance. (Paula Findlen). Part II: The Shaping of Modern Western Historical Thought. 6. Historical Thought in the Era of Enlightenment. (Johnson Kent Wright). 7. German Historical Thought in the Age of Herder, Kant, and Hegel. (Harold Mah). 8. Historical Thought from Ranke to Weber: The Primacy of Politics. (Harry Liebersohn). 9. National History in the Age of Michelet, Macaulay, and Bancroft. (Thomas N. Baker). 10. Marxism and Historical Thought: Walter L. Adamson (Emory University). Part III: Patterns in Twentieth-Century Western Historical Thought. 11. The Professionalization of Historical Studies and the Guiding Assumptions of Modern Historical Thought. (Georg G. Iggers). 12. The History of Armed Power. (Peter Paret). 13. Total History and Microhistory: The French and Italian Paradigms. (David A. Bell). 14. Anthropology and the History of Culture. (William M. Reddy). 15. The History of Science, or, An Oxymoronic Theory of Relativistic Objectivity. (Ken Alder). 16. Language, Literary Studies and Historical Thought. (Susan A. Crane). 17. Psychology: Psychoanalysis, and Historical Thought. (Lynn Hunt). 18. Redefining Historical Identities: Sexuality, Gender and the Self. (Carolyn J. Dean). 19. Historicizing Natural Environments: The Deep Roots of Environmental History. (Andrew C. Isenberg). Part IV: Challenges to the Boundaries of Western Historical Thought. 20. The New World History. (Jerry H. Bently). 21. Postcolonial History. (Prasenjit Duara). 22. The Multicultural History of Nations. (Donna R. Gabbacia). 23. New Technologies and Historical Knowledge. (James M. Murray 24. The Visual Media and Historical Knowledge. (Robert A. Rosenstone). Consolidated Bibliography. Index.

"This companion is expansive in its subject and links with other disciplines, such as ancient history and the classics, anthropology, Biblical studies and theology... It covers many expected subjects, but also explores lesser-known areas of historical interest as well as the challenges to historical thought in the twenty-first century that will continue to make this companion a useful library resource." Reference Reviews