This book is essential reading for all students needing an understanding of history as a discipline. History in Practice explores the discipline's breadth, its complexities and the tasks it takes on. This study by one of the liveliest and most acute practitioners in the field demystifies what historians do. It looks at history as an academic discipline but also engages with the use of historical ideas in the wider world. Historical work has public consequences and draws considerable energy from contemporary preoccupations. For this new edition of her respected and widely used book, Ludmilla Jordanova has revised the text and added a new chapter that takes into account recent world events. She discusses the role of the internet, globalisation, world history and the current enthusiasm for military history. This book is essential reading for all students needing an understanding of history as a discipline. 'One of the last half-century's most insightful, level-headed, and humane reflections on the practice of history and its cultural significance.' - History 'A major, deeply reflective work upon the nature of studying and writing history. No other author has treated the subject in the same way. She writes with equal facility about the history of society, high-politics, economics and science and displays a genuine understanding of the differing spirits and methods of sociology, anthropology and philosphy and the ways in which these have made an impact upon history.' - Ronald Hutton, Professor of History, University of Bristol
Ludmilla Jordanova holds a Chair in History at King's College London. She was previously Director of the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Downing College.