The University Of Rhode Island Historiography Review

The word historiography comes from the Ancient Greek noun ἵστωρ and verb συγγράφω, meaning respectively someone who knows and to write. Thus, the etymological meaning of the word is the writing of someone who knows. The University of Rhode Island’s library guide for writing historiography defines historiography as “the sum total of the interpretations of a specific topic written by past and current historians.” Simply put, historiography is the history of historical writing. Historiography frequently manifests itself in historiographical papers, which analyze the historiography of a specific topic either to examine the past research on that topic or to serve as groundwork for an argument or different interpretation of that topic. A thorough historiographical paper identifies influential works and authors on the chosen topic, describes the scholarly conversation surrounding the topic, and places itself in that

These are not the only reasons that historiography is important when forming a stance on a specific topic. Historiographical research helps develop a fuller understanding on a topic and creates a more educated interpretation. Similarly, when historiography is included in a paper, it gives that paper more credibility and the writer more perceived authority on the topic by displaying this thorough understanding of the topic. Furthermore, by evaluating the past research that has been done on a topic, it helps the writer avoid potentially plagiarizing a source that they might not have known about otherwise and give the writer a chance to formally recognize the scholarship and authors that have previously written on a