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Historians in Public: The Practice of American History, 1890-1970
From lagging book sales and shrinking job prospects to concerns over the discipline's "narrowness," myriad factors have been cited by historians as evidence that their profession is in decline in America. Ian Tyrrell's Historians in Public shows that this perceived threat to history is recurrent, exaggerated, and often misunderstood. In fact, history has adapted to and influenced the American public more than people—and often historians—realize.
Tyrrell's elegant history of the practice of American history traces debates, beginning shortly after the profession's emergence in American academia, about history's role in school curricula. He also examines the use of historians in and by the government and whether historians should utilize mass media such as film and radio to influence the general public. As Historians in Public shows, the utility of history is a distinctive theme throughout the history of the discipline, as is the attempt to be responsive to public issues among pressure groups.
A superb examination of the practice of American history since the turn of the century, Historians in Public uncovers the often tangled ways history-makers make history-both as artisans and as actors.
Tyrrell's elegant history of the practice of American history traces debates, beginning shortly after the profession's emergence in American academia, about history's role in school curricula. He also examines the use of historians in and by the government and whether historians should utilize mass media such as film and radio to influence the general public. As Historians in Public shows, the utility of history is a distinctive theme throughout the history of the discipline, as is the attempt to be responsive to public issues among pressure groups.
A superb examination of the practice of American history since the turn of the century, Historians in Public uncovers the often tangled ways history-makers make history-both as artisans and as actors.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
312 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2005
52 people want to read
About the author
Ian Tyrrell
20 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ian Tyrrell retired as Scientia Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia in July 2012 and is now an Emeritus Professor of History. Born in Brisbane, Queensland, he was educated at the University of Queensland and Duke University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and James B. Duke Fellow. His teaching and research interests include American history, environmental history, and historiography.
He was a pioneer in the approach to transnational history as a research program for reconceptualizing United States history through his essay “American Exceptionalism in an Age of International History” in the American Historical Review in 1991; and in Woman’s World/Woman’s Empire: The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union in International Perspective (University of North Carolina Press, 1991), which dealt with the issues of gender and empire in that leading nineteenth-century women’s international organization.
Ian Tyrrell retired as Scientia Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia in July 2012 and is now an Emeritus Professor of History. Born in Brisbane, Queensland, he was educated at the University of Queensland and Duke University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and James B. Duke Fellow. His teaching and research interests include American history, environmental history, and historiography.
He was a pioneer in the approach to transnational history as a research program for reconceptualizing United States history through his essay “American Exceptionalism in an Age of International History” in the American Historical Review in 1991; and in Woman’s World/Woman’s Empire: The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union in International Perspective (University of North Carolina Press, 1991), which dealt with the issues of gender and empire in that leading nineteenth-century women’s international organization.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 20, 2016
Tyrrell’s thesis is that historians actively engaged with the public during the early- to mid-twentieth century, but with mixed results — much content emphasized consensus or national pride, and Progressive attempts to communicate with popular audiences usually didn’t last long. The radio shows and educational films of the 1920s–40s found some popularity with teachers, but often the works were too expensive to produce or too academic in content to develop staying power. The government hired a huge number of historians during the Great Depression and WWII, although by the 1950s many government historians felt that the work culture was stifling. Popular historians like Allan Nevins and Claude Bowers bemoaned academic history as dull or too specialized and lobbied for more readable histories, but their work was mixed in terms of quality, and too often reinforced a white interpretation of history. Similarly, the rise of state and local historical associations took racist views toward history, banishing Native Americans from the story and viewing Reconstruction as a crime against whites. Attempts to change popular education were uneven, as politicians and super-patriots pushed back against revisionist ideas (and this was before the civil rights movement!).
Ultimately, the pendulum swung back toward academic histories. Many of the popular history venues that Nevins et. al. championed were not viable without corporate support, which raised questions about the viability or independence of the work. Academic historians came to populate state and local associations to a great degree. Even historical book clubs meant for a public audience wound up sharing more academic titles than popular histories!
Along the way, Tyrrell shows that debates about hyper-specialization and boring topics are not new to American historians. Rather, historians have been arguing about this matter since the early 20th century. He shows how Scientific historians and Progressive historians alike wanted to rejuvenate historical writing for the twentieth century, although neither group went far enough in questioning basic assumptions of race and class in America. The 1960s and the radicalism of that decade introduced many challenges (and challengers) to the older generation of pragmatic, centrist, and consensus historians. Writers like Eric Goldman and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. were criticized for their consensus and pro-government views during the Vietnam War. Ultimately, the New Left and postmodernism provoked good self-reflection in the historical profession, but at the cost of much public engagement. Tyrrell’s narrative therefore charts opposites: early public engagement at the cost of critical historical arguments, and later critical history at the cost of public engagement. Tyrrell ends with the implication that contemporary historians should unite the latest scholarship with active public engagement.
The book's a bit dry to read, the government history chapters are dense, and the thesis has to be dug out of the text, since the chapters tell really separate stories. Still, Tyrrell has written an extremely thorough work of history. This book will be a great asset to history graduate students learning about their profession.
Ultimately, the pendulum swung back toward academic histories. Many of the popular history venues that Nevins et. al. championed were not viable without corporate support, which raised questions about the viability or independence of the work. Academic historians came to populate state and local associations to a great degree. Even historical book clubs meant for a public audience wound up sharing more academic titles than popular histories!
Along the way, Tyrrell shows that debates about hyper-specialization and boring topics are not new to American historians. Rather, historians have been arguing about this matter since the early 20th century. He shows how Scientific historians and Progressive historians alike wanted to rejuvenate historical writing for the twentieth century, although neither group went far enough in questioning basic assumptions of race and class in America. The 1960s and the radicalism of that decade introduced many challenges (and challengers) to the older generation of pragmatic, centrist, and consensus historians. Writers like Eric Goldman and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. were criticized for their consensus and pro-government views during the Vietnam War. Ultimately, the New Left and postmodernism provoked good self-reflection in the historical profession, but at the cost of much public engagement. Tyrrell’s narrative therefore charts opposites: early public engagement at the cost of critical historical arguments, and later critical history at the cost of public engagement. Tyrrell ends with the implication that contemporary historians should unite the latest scholarship with active public engagement.
The book's a bit dry to read, the government history chapters are dense, and the thesis has to be dug out of the text, since the chapters tell really separate stories. Still, Tyrrell has written an extremely thorough work of history. This book will be a great asset to history graduate students learning about their profession.
September 17, 2015
Tyrrell writes about the history of several debates among academic historians, including those over the boundary between academic and popular/amateur history; the ability of academic historians to engage with a broader public via their books, as well as new media such as radio and film; and the role of academic historians in creating or guiding K-12 curriculum.
It worked very nicely as an early reading in my graduate historiography class; it's definitely more accessible -- not to mention about 200 pages shorter -- than Novick's That Noble Dream. I'm thinking of using parts of it in the undergraduate methods class as we talk about the history the profession. The one downside is that he uses "Scientific History" and "Progressive History" without really explaining what they are. That's easily addressed by introducing the concepts as part of the set-up to the book.
It worked very nicely as an early reading in my graduate historiography class; it's definitely more accessible -- not to mention about 200 pages shorter -- than Novick's That Noble Dream. I'm thinking of using parts of it in the undergraduate methods class as we talk about the history the profession. The one downside is that he uses "Scientific History" and "Progressive History" without really explaining what they are. That's easily addressed by introducing the concepts as part of the set-up to the book.
January 24, 2009
This book is an excellent overview of the debates that wage among historians about their role in the world. It is less a "how to" teach history or present history and much more about the role history plays in contemporary society.
I've never really believed the whole "Americans Have No Sense Of History" line. Tyrrell excellently points out the ways in which history is used in America and how that history informs almost everything our culture does.
The author is an Australian and he really nails the American relationship to history, perhaps since he can view it from the outside. If you're interested in the relationship between cultures and history I strongly recommend picking up this book.
I've never really believed the whole "Americans Have No Sense Of History" line. Tyrrell excellently points out the ways in which history is used in America and how that history informs almost everything our culture does.
The author is an Australian and he really nails the American relationship to history, perhaps since he can view it from the outside. If you're interested in the relationship between cultures and history I strongly recommend picking up this book.
September 27, 2011
Responding to a popular jeremiad among historians - that the influence and reach of the profession is on the wane - Tyrrell unravels the history of historical work in the United States. The book focuses around three arenas - mass audiences, education, and public or government-centric history work. In the process, five factors modulate the role of history in public discourse: popular pressure (including political pressure); economics (particularly, but not exclusively, funding); the particularities of the American political structure; technological change; and the growing schism between professional and amateur historians. The result is engagingly written and, for historians, an essential work on the history of our profession.
January 27, 2014
I read this book followed by History's Babel by Robert B. Townsend... together, these two books compliment each other well. I had to read these both for a new media class, and recommend reading the two together to get a full understanding of the development of historical fields to through the 1960s. This book really opened my eyes to a better understanding of the impact major events in history (ex: WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII) had in the development of historical subfields and the professionalization of history. Recommend reading these two books together to get an overall better understanding!
September 17, 2013
An excellent look at the problems historians and the public face in determining the American narrative. Whether one agrees with the author or not, the discussions are relevant and the variety of voices are important to understanding the way history is analyzed and written, and by whom.
September 9, 2015
I read this for class. Parts of it were interesting. I don't think I will go back and read it again. And now I am afraid the paper I turned in for it is off...so yay!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews