Historiography, Diversity, and Education

Historiography, according to Richard T. Vann (2011), can be defined as the “writing of history, especially that based on the critical examination of sources and the synthesis of chosen particulars from those sources into a narrative that will stand the test of critical methods.” Fundamental to the writing of history, according to this definition, is a “critical examination” or evaluation of historical sources—a synthesis from various sources of “particulars” or significant facts or other phenomena into a “narrative” or story-like form that often explains the causes, unfolding, and effects of events or processes. The definition also refers to the methodology of historical writing, noting that the product of examination and synthesis that results in a historical narrative must meet the “test of critical methods.” Those ...