Historiography is the study of how history is written and how our historical understanding changes over time. Historiography considers the approaches used by historians and seeks to understand how and why their theories and interpretations differ.
Alpha History, “What Is Historiography?” https://alphahistory.com/what-is-historiography/
While the past itself never changes, history – in other words, our understanding of the past – is always evolving. New historians explore and interpret the past through their own methods, priorities and values. They develop new theories and conclusions that may change the way we understand the past. Historiography acknowledges and discusses this process of change.
Your historiographical essay should demonstrate your ability to read critically and evaluate divergent interpretations of your research question. How have other historians interpreted your research question? What are the key debates? How and why have interpretations of your topic changed over time? Your annotated bibliography will be the starting place for this analysis.
A historiographical essay is not a series of book reports. Critical analysis goes beyond summarizing the contents of a book or article to a deeper critique of the author’s contributions to a scholarly debate. You should have a clear argument about historical interpretations of this pivotal event and support it with concrete examples from the texts analyzed.
For this 750-1250 word historiographical essay, you will not just mine scholarly accounts for background information, but instead analyze secondary sources to enter into the historiographical debate surrounding your research question. You need to incorporate your thoughtful analysis of at least three major secondary sources (whether books or articles) into this essay. Cite all information using Chicago style.