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Robert Rosenstone was among the first 'postmodern' historians, and remains one of the most renowned. In this honest, revealing and often funny memoir, he shows us how he got there and why.
Adventures of a Postmodern Historian chronicles Rosenstone's research journeys over half a century. Beginning in the 1960s, his offbeat trajectory took him on adventures through the police states of Franco Spain and the Soviet Union, to the Shinto shrines and Zen temples of Japan and ultimately to Hollywood. Alongside his own memoirs, Rosenstone reflects upon developments and changes within the realm of professional history, which in turn reflect the social, cultural, and intellectual shifts of the late 20th century. A pioneer of experimental and creative history, he suggests how the experience of the historian can inflect the written history, and provides a defence of innovation in historical writing that is both intellectually rigorous and entertaining. In doing so he offers a window into the state of history today - and points to exciting new ways of writing the past.
This is a book about the craft of history, about both doing research and writing it. It should be required reading for all historians.
List of contents
1. Before: Confessions 1
2. Spain: Crusade of the Left
3. Soviet Union: Romantic Revolutionary
4. Japan: Mirror in the Shrine
5. Hollywood: Visions of the Past
6. After: Confessions 2
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Robert A. Rosenstone is Professor Emeritus of History at California Institute of Technology, USA.
Summary
Robert Rosenstone was among the first ‘postmodern’ historians, and remains one of the most renowned. In this honest, revealing and often funny memoir, he shows us how he got there and why.
Adventures of a Postmodern Historian chronicles Rosenstone’s research journeys over half a century. Beginning in the 1960s, his offbeat trajectory took him on adventures through the police states of Franco Spain and the Soviet Union, to the Shinto shrines and Zen temples of Japan and ultimately to Hollywood. Alongside his own memoirs, Rosenstone reflects upon developments and changes within the realm of professional history, which in turn reflect the social, cultural, and intellectual shifts of the late 20th century. A pioneer of experimental and creative history, he suggests how the experience of the historian can inflect the written history, and provides a defence of innovation in historical writing that is both intellectually rigorous and entertaining. In doing so he offers a window into the state of history today – and points to exciting new ways of writing the past.
This is a book about the craft of history, about both doing research and writing it. It should be required reading for all historians.
Foreword
An honest and revealing account of a prominent historian's offbeat research journeys through the 20th century, offering a unique view on how we study and write about the past.
Additional text
In the course of his career, Robert A. Rosenstone (emeritus, Cal Tech) has worked as one of the most brilliantly innovative historians in the United States. … His latest book Adventures of a Postmodern Historian is a beautifully written memoir that succeeds in being a profound meditation on the life of a historian as well as the nature of historical research and writing. It is also a highly entertaining and moving account of his unique and interesting career.
