Constructing the Past: Theories of Historical Knowledge
HIST 338
Spring 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
COL 328 |
This seminar will explore how we "make history" by exploring issues and debates in contemporary theory of history. Wesleyan is known as the epicenter for theory of history because of the academic journal "History and Theory," owned and edited by Wesleyan University faculty for the past 60 years. We will discuss such topics as the nature of historical truth; time and temporality; fiction and fact; history as a science with laws vs history as an art, with style; gender history; agency and causation; history of the emotions; of animals, and history's moral imperatives. We will give special attention to recent arguments about the theory of history, and how we construct the past. Key figures are likely to include Walter Benjamin, R. G. Collingwood, Michel Foucault, Hayden White, Frank Ankersmit, Nancy Partner, Joan Scott, and Reinhart Koselleck as well as publications by Wesleyan faculty past and present. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (College of Letters)(History Minor)(History)(Social, Cultural and Critical Theory Certificate) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
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