Social history

Quick Facts: Who was Social history?

Subject:

Social history

Known for:

A field examining lived experience in the past, moving beyond elite narratives.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians. Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading from schools of thought in the United Kingdom and France which posited that the Great Man view of history was inaccurate because it did not adequately explain how societies changed. Instead, social historians wanted to show that change arose from within society, complicating the popular belief that powerful leaders were the source of dynamism. While social history came from the Marxist view of history (historical materialism), the cultural turn and linguistic turn saw the number of sub-fields expand as well as the emergence of other approaches to social history, including a social liberal approach and a more ambiguous critical theory approach.

Career & Major Achievements

In its "golden age", it was a major field in the 1960s and 1970s among young historians, and still is well represented in history departments in Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and the United States. In the two decades from 1975 to 1995, the proportion of professors of history in American universities identifying with social history rose from 31% to 41%, while the proportion of political historians fell from 40% to 30%. In the history departments of British and Irish universities in 2014, of the 3410 faculty members reporting, 878 (26%) identified themselves with social history while political history came next with 841 (25%). There is an important distinction between old social history and new social history, which are now subfields of social history that predate the 1960s. E. P. Thompson identified labour history as the central concern of new social historians because of its " Whiggish narratives", such as the term "labour movement" which, he says, erroneously suggests the constant progression toward the perfect future.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The older social history included numerous topics that were not part of mainstream historiography, which was then political, military, diplomatic, constitutional history, the history of great men and intellectual history. It was a hodgepodge without a central theme, and it often included political movements, such as populism, that were "social" in the sense of being outside the elite system. The popular view is that new social history emerged in the 1960s with the publication of Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class (1963). Writing in 1966 in The Times Literary Supplement, Thompson described his approach as "history from below" and explained that it had come from earlier developments within the French Annales School. According to C. J. Coventry, new social history arose in the 1930s at the University of Cambridge with the Communist Party Historians Group.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1963: 1963 Milestone — The popular view is that new social history emerged in the 1960s with the publication of Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class (1963).
2. 1966: 1966 Milestone — Writing in 1966 in The Times Literary Supplement, Thompson described his approach as "history from below" and explained that it had come from earlier developments within the French Annales School.
3. 1975: 1975 Milestone — In the two decades from 1975 to 1995, the proportion of professors of history in American universities identifying with social history rose from 31% to 41%, while the proportion of political historians fell from 40% to 30%.
4. 2014: 2014 Milestone — In the history departments of British and Irish universities in 2014, of the 3410 faculty members reporting, 878 (26%) identified themselves with social history while political history came next with 841 (25%).

Notable Quotes by Social history

“history from below” (1966)

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Social history

True or False: “The concept of 'Great Man' history suggests that powerful leaders are the sole source of societal change.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Social historians argue that change arises from within society and the lived experiences of ordinary people, not just great individuals.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Social history