E. H. Carr Definition Of History Summary

Assignment

Shafin Shabir Naik

AAA1325

B.S Economics

“My first answer therefore to the question ‘What is History?’ is that it is a continuous process of interaction between the historian and his facts, an unending dialogue between the present and the past.”
(E.H Carr, What is History, Penguin Books: England, 1990[1961], p.30)

Introduction
The origin of ‘History’ can be traced back to Greek word Historia which means learning or knowing by inquiry. The Free Dictionary defines history as, “A usually chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events.” Apart from this definition, we also have mentioned E.H Carr’s definition of history.

But still historians, from time immemorial, have tried to define history as per their intellect. These definitions show us how History has developed, as a subject, over decades. We will discuss this in more detail in the first part of this paper.
One of the most important definitions, till date, in the history of History is that of E.H.Carr. This definition led to a paradigm shift in the way historians thought of History (from history as a science to history as a social science). This definition and Carr’s general views regarding History will be scrutinized later in this