Sunday, February 15, 2015

Marxism, Romanticism, and Empiricism

Briefly explain the major points and one major author in each of the following historiographical schools: Marxism, Romanticism, Empiricism. How were American historians impacted by these schools of history? Which do you believe is the best approach to writing history? Why?

            Marxism is an ideology and a philosophy molded by Karl Marx, a man who took on many roles and studies throughout his life, a philosopher, a sociologist, a scientist, an economist, and a historian. As most people, Marx’s ideas about the world evolved as he grew older and as he aged so did his ideologies. Marx was extremely interested in the social aspects of his world; especially the role of the working class in the country. He created a philosophy called “historical materialism” that assumed a man was molded by his socioeconomic class.[1] What this assumption entails is that a person is forged through their class based on a number of material factors such as, “how the obtain[ed] the basic necessities to live, what they own[ed], what work they do [did], and how they produce[d] these necessities.”[2] Marx believed that a man’s social class would forever dictate his, “beliefs, behaviors, education, political power, and material possessions.”[3] Marx concluded that as the “superstructure” of a society changed, often violently, it was only when the proletariats became aware of their oppression and over through the bourgeoisie that a balance in social class would be possible. Communism is the idea of equality in a society where there is only one social class and people work together to form a balanced economy where all of the country prospers. Unfortunately, humans are not perfect, and communism requires perfection, honesty, hard work, effort, and many other impeccable qualities that not all people possess. This “imperfection” in some people destroys the possibility of a completely equal society because someone will always want more than someone else because they feel they deserve or warrant it.
            Empiricism and Romanticism are little less complicated to describe. Empiricism is learning through observable evidence; moving away from the mythopoetic narrative and into the historical method. Out of this ideology came positivism which was an idea, from Auguste Comte, that as humans evolved they would eventually steer away from superstitions and base their outlook and information solely on researched and empirical evidence.[4] One of the most important ideologies that stemmed from empiricism was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution which suggested that organisms change and evolve over time to adapt to their environment. This theory was then adapted by certain historians and politicians to justify certain, “racial, sexist, and elitist concepts.”[5] “Survival of the fittest” was a concept that was taken out of context to support the supremacy one race, ethnicity, or nationality over another. More often than not it was, “upper-class males of European decent, that naturally saw themselves as the more highly evolved organisms of the world, and placed women, and people of lower classes, and other regions of the world, lower down on the evolutionary scale.”[6] Leopold von Ranke is one of the most influential empiricist historians of his time. He wrote based on primary sources and really revolutionized the way historians looked at archival materials.
            Romanticism resembles the mythopoetic narrative that we studied in previous chapters. It relies less on science and more on thought, emotion, and feeling; it is almost like a philosophical historical narrative. These narratives often focuses on people and created a hero for a nation and rallied support for politicians and the military. Thomas Carlyle wrote more about the great men and women of history rather than for a specific nationalist goal.
            Americans had great interest in both empiricism and romanticism. Historians used the historical method to advance their study and research of history to a more academic level but at the same time the used romanticism to foster patriotism and support for people and events throughout history.
            I think both empiricism and romanticism play an important role in writing and researching history. I prefer to write with feeling and emotion so that my reader can put themselves into the shoes of my subject. You need a balance of facts and flare to make history worth reading.

Work Cited:
Gilderhus, Mark T. History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010.

Hoefferle, Caroline. The Essential Historiography Reader. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010.




[1] Caroline Hoefferle, The Essential Historiography Reader (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011), 64.
[2] Hofferle, The Essential Historiography Reader, 64.
[3] Hofferle, 64.
[4] Hofferle, 66.
[5] Hoefferle, 66.
[6] Hoefferle, 66.

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