Review

The what and why of history is neatly revealed in this tidy and lofty little book. Without getting defensive, History: What and Why? uses a history of ideas framework to instruct, clarify, demonstrate, and explain the history and philosophy of the profession, and does so with some playfulness and humor. While Professor Southgate's book recounts the culture wars and captures the debate between the absolutists and. the relativists, he places all of these arguments in an historical context of the history of ideas, and helps us understand that debates about history, its definition, role, importance, and relevance, has been going on since the first self-proclaimed historian presented "the truth." The preface neatly defines the topic: this is a study of the absolutists, those who have held that history can and should be retold "as it was", as a fixed story independent of the historian, versus the relativists, who believe history can have many approaches, can be re-examined, should be non privileged, and evolves in a cultural context of human design.	1
The book begins with a standard and sensible exploration of the very idea of recording history. History had roots in the epic poem, but was subsequently considered inferior to poetry for its lack of universality. In later centuries, history adopted a science model, using rational, objective, and scientific tactics to reconstruct the past "as it was." This shift revisits the placement of history in academic departments: is it a humanities subject or a social science? Skepticism about history is clearly not new. In one of its the most interesting forays the book investigates just why people have been interested in history: for amusement, for moral values, the philosophic search for truth, as example and model, to reveal the divine plan, for political gain. So the very notion of the past "as it was" depends on who does the telling and who wants it told.	2
Chapters Three and Four describe the influence of disciplines and knowledge outside of history—psychology, philosophy, and linguistics. Each discipline influences the traditional views of doing history. Though historians typically subscribe to objectivism, ethical values, and approaching a truth about the materials they are examining, they are nonetheless affected by the very subjects they choose to study, the languages they study and write in, and their own cultural backgrounds which influence their perceptions and interpretations of material. Chapter Four also examines intellectual perspectives—the organization of materials to present a "take" on a topic. The description of Marxism is especially clear and compelling; feminism and post-colonialism are adeptly presented as well. The finishing touches on perspectives end with a discussion of PONOPHOBIA, fear of post-modernism, which the author takes as a serious contemporary challenge to the field. Though some fear post modernism as a general trashing of the rules, the author prudently places postmodernism in the context of skeptical philosophy—another among many effective critiques. He suggests we can learn something from re-examining the field.	3
This is clearly a book for people who love and want to know more about history, so advanced undergraduate students majoring in philosophy or history will find it illuminating and challenging. History: What and Why? can claim a comfortable spot in an historical methods syllabus as well. A brief, helpful annotated bibliography ends the book. What's appealing about the book is not the debunking of history, though some will read it that way, but rather an optimistic look at history's use for the living. Professor Southgate avows that historians have something to offer humanity and that is hope. By using their craft and presenting clearly the truths they have mined, historians reveal the range and possibilities of human behavior past, present, and future.	4
SUNY Empire State College Barbara Kantz

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