Compares the skills and styles necessary to read articles in the "American Historical Review" 100 years ago and today. Analyzes five types of reading and notes that historians may combine two or more of these types. Discusses a type of reading called dialogic reading and argues that it offers insight into historiography. (CFR)

Asserts that, although documentary film is nearly 100 years old, historical film did not have a place in the "American Historical Review" until recent years. Presents an interview with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on the history and significance of documentary film. (CFR)

Describes an instructional unit in which Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis is applied to Russian history. Suggests that the activities and recommended readings are perhaps best suited to Advanced Placement and honors classes. Includes a list of student readings, teacher resources, and step-by-step teaching procedures. (CFR)

Maintains that Marshall Hodgson's work, "Rethinking World History," is an interregional approach to world history. Argues that his chief contributions to historical writing were his consideration of epistemological issues, his revisionist views of the history of Europe, and his vision of world history as the center of a reinvigorated…

Reports on a study of the opinions regarding the state of the art of historical research, writing, and instruction among 1,047 readers of the "Journal of American History," the journal of the Organization of American Historians. (CFR)

Discusses historians' attitudes expressed in a survey about cultural diversity, social change, and historical research. Questions basic public interests and needs that people feel. Concludes that the great strength of the United States is that individuals have the freedom to pursue individual searches for memory and meaning. (CFR)

Any study of the history of psychology must first determine what is to be considered psychology, whether to stick to the relatively continuous Western tradition or to include others (e.g., Eastern, Oriental), and whether to investigate the impact of the socio-cultural events of the time on the views of that period or consider those views in a…

Examines the development of American astronomy by discussing: general studies on the subject; early efforts through 1825; establishing foundations (1825-1875); the transitional period (1875-1945); and the space age (1945 to the present). Points out that the field is underdeveloped with a need for additional work. (JN)

Discusses the development of chemistry in the United States by considering: (1) chemistry as an evolving body of ideas/techniques, and as a set of conceptual resources affecting and affected by the development of other sciences; and (2) chemistry related to the history of American social and economic institutions and practices. (JN)

Reviews the history of the social sciences in America, indicating that the field is still chiefly a collection of topics, albeit important ones such as mental hospitals, child development, and eugenics. Also indicates that although source materials are vast, synthetic overviews are needed in a number of areas. (JN)

Provides a wide-ranging survey of relations between war, science, and technology from the days of the American colonies to the Vietnam War, indicating that the overall impact of science and technology on war has been overstated by historians in many fields. Includes military histories that science/technology historians have not used. (JN)

Analyzes Geoffrey Elton's work on Tudor history and the English Reformation. Traces the development of Elton's ideas about narrative history and examines Elton's historiographical role as a disciple of Von Ranke. Claims Elton's work in Tudor studies reveals the "medieval-modern" dialectical tension. Considers ideological aspects of…

Maintains that, except from treatments of slavery as a legal condition, there was little coverage of African Americans in the first half-century of the "American Historical Review." Asserts, however, that coverage of black issues was even less in other scholarly journals. Reviews recent historiography related to African Americans. (CFR)

Discusses recent trends of historiography, particularly efforts to include women and minority groups in U.S. history. Concludes that history that excludes portions of U.S. culture and ignores the experiences of segments of the U.S. population fails to fully explain the American experience to U.S. citizens and others. (CFR)

Examines work of the past decade that has elucidated the place, function, and nature of science in American medicine and on the need and means to develop a more ample and balanced history of the meanings of that science. (JN)