Non-Representationalist Theories of Historiography and the Reshaping of Contemporary Views of Historiography in the West
Views of historiography are the foundation of all historiographical theories.Broadly speaking,Western theories of historiography over the course of the twentieth century were based on the two-tiered representationalist view of historiography through which the discipline was deemed as a representational act between historians and the past.As such,historiography was split into two parts:establishing facts and organizing facts.In the last decade,scholars such as Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen and Paul A.Roth have challenged this long-standing view of historiography that has dominated Western theories of history.From different angles,they argue that historiography should be seen as an argumentative act between historians and others,aiming at justifying claim(s)rather than representing the past.By grounding historiography with non-representationalist views,their theories of historiography not only resolve the problem of how to objectively judge the subjective nature of historical writings,but also fit neatly with historians'actual practice.However,non-representationalism fails to conform to historians'self-perception of their work,which might result in historians'rejection,even potentially undermining the field of historiography.Thus,scholars should treat non-representationalism with careful analysis.
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