Historians Being Mean: A Glossary
Last night, while I was prepping for the seminar I teach on historiography, I realized that one of the reasons we teach historiography is to give students a basic vocabulary with which to critique historical research and writing. T here are instances in which the correct word matters, not the OK word or the more or less descriptive word. (This, of course, is coming from the woman who, as a four year old, asked her mom if she could postpone her nap because she wasn't tired at the moment. I used the perfectly appropriate word and got out of my nap. Life lesson learned. Check.) In no particular order, then, here are a few of the most commonly used words historians sling at each other and what they mean. Followed by what they really mean: