Reblogging: Public History

Thomas Bender (NYU) on the differing pretensions of history (humanities?) and social science:

Most of the social sciences claim “expertise” relevant to policy, which is delivered in a variety of non-public settings or distinct “audiences,” mostly governmental or corporate, as opposed to a public. Historians, however, do not claim that type of knowledge, and they generally lack such audiences or clients. Their narratives and interpretations, which are heavily weighted with contingencies and interdependent rather than dependent variables, are somewhat unwieldy and harder to package as “expertise.” Rather than finely tuned expertise for specific audiences, historians offer broad interpretations, often at a macro level, to a diverse public.

On history and future politics:

History is a mode of scholarship and thinking that can construct narratives that are themselves actors in public life. But historians must be ready with a relevant narrative of how things got the way they are and what makes them a matter of concern when a public emerges. That narrative, I think, must address institutional power, both of the state and of our economic institutions. A future politics depends on that.