يقدم هذا الكتاب عرضا واضحا ودليلا أساسيا لتاريخ مصطلح "التاريخانية"، واستخداماته، علاوة على المصطلحات النقدية التي ترد كثيرا ضمن مناهج البحث التاريخاني. كما يناقش آراء المفكرين الرئيسيين المنتمين إلى التاريخانية، في الماضي وفي الحاضر، ليزود القارئ بما يلزمه من مصطلحات نقدية لتناول النصوص بالغة الأهمية في هذا المجال. كما يشرح الكتاب المكانة التي تحتلها التاريخانية داخل النظرية النقدية، ويرسم الخطوط العريضة لأوجه الاختلاف بين التاريخانية والتاريخانية الجديدة. بالإضافة إلى ذلك يعرض كيف يمكن لمناهج البحث التاريخانية أن تلقي ضوءًا جديدا على ما يجري الآن من مساجلات بشأن دراسات "ما بعد الاستعمار"، والدراسات "النسانية"، ثم "العولمة".
يُعَد الكتاب متطلبا أساسيا يحتاج إليه الباحث الذى يشرع في دخول ميدان النظرية الأدبية بما فيه من مصطلحات مُربكة، كما يحتاجه من يسعون إلى استكشاف مناهج البحث التاريخانية بعمق أكبر. ويضم أيضا مسردا جديدا بالمصطلحات، وببليوجرافيا محدَّثة كلية، مما يعد مدخلا مثاليا وأساسيا لا غنى عنه لاكتساب مزيد من المعرفة.
Paul Hamilton's Historicism guides us through some of the key thinkers that have, in one way or another, been subsumed under the label of 'historicism'. However, the title of the book is somewhat misleading, as Hamilton's analysis is far less sweeping and comprehensive than Historicism implies. I think this can largely be attributed to the fact that Hamilton is an English Professor, not an historian, and so the text leans more heavily toward literary criticism than history-proper. His scope is limited primarily to the Continental tradition and its various successors, and, as a result, Historicism is more like a snapshot of one particular sliver of historicism.
Although it shouldn't be read as a comprehensive survey of the intellectual history of historicism, it is a good reflection of the tradition from modernity to post-modernity and beyond. The chapter on hermeneutics was really well-executed and immediately captured my attention. I also enjoyed Hamilton's closing chapter, in which he reflects on the various challenges in writing feminist histories; here, especially, he raises a number of crucial points that I never considered previously.
Overall, Historicism is a stimulating - if limited - introduction to a much larger cluster of traditions. In terms of diving into the historiography, there are probably better places to start your investigation than here. Still, this is a decent place to end up when you find yourself a little further down the road.
This was another book I picked up for assistance for my thesis. This book was great because it directly outlined the argument of historicism and new historicism. It also provides various examples to highlight the process being taken. While it is very informative and a great book for study, it was also very dry to read as it is similar to a textbook. I definitely recommend it to individuals looking for direction on how historicism.
Very dense; asks a lot of its readers; questions terminology and also talks about self-analysis, but does not seem to question itself; lacks an argument (at least a clearly stated one). Otherwise, makes a few remarkable points; covers a lot in not that many words; has occasional flashes of illuminating brilliance.