Who Is the Historian?

In advance of the publication of Who Is the Historian?—which will officially become available during the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, January 7-10—the author, Nigel A. Raab, offers some reflections on the process of writing the book, the impetus behind it, and his hopes for the book’s future as well as the future of the discipline of history.

UTP29 Who's the Historian Mech R1.inddIn this book, I wanted to add a third dimension to the historian. Normally, we experience the historian as an author’s name on the cover of a historical work. We read this historical work and analyze the interpretation but we never get a sense for who the historian is or how they put together that work. Thus Who Is the Historian? reveals the gamut of experiences that make the study of history such an exciting and valuable profession. We have “The Making of…” DVDs, so why shouldn’t we get a back stage pass to the work of the historian? All you have to do is take a quick peek at the archives and libraries that historians use to understand they travel around the world for inspiration. I have always loved visiting new cities, taking trains into the Arctic or onto the Russia-Chinese border to hunt out documents or explore new intellectual terrain. Historians can venture way off the beaten path for intellectual stimulation. These possibilities have to be made clear to younger generations so they see that research is more than spending time in a library. In diversifying the ways in which we think of the historian, the profession itself becomes more intriguing to curious young minds.

I also wanted to overcome the misconception that only individuals working in history departments are historians. I have long thought that the term historian is conceived too narrowly. As part of my research for the book, I met with archivists, librarians, and curators to talk with them about their place in this larger web. I learned so much from these conversations. They all have links with the historical profession even if they might not have the official title of historian. It was great to be able to write a book about a community of researchers from different walks of life rather than just focus on a few classic historical masterpieces.

I thought it was time to open up about these possibilities because history and the humanities come under the gun far too often. To my mind, there is nothing more intriguing and endlessly complex as the human experience, but in a world where the emphasis is placed on science, we continually have to remind ourselves of the role history and the humanities play. Historians don’t have a Nobel Prize to advertise their successes so the book promotes the ability of the historian to have an influence in a highly technical world. The studies of historians have had a profound affect on gender equality, gay rights, racial issues, economic inequalities, and so many other issues they rarely get credit for. It might be high time to institute a Nobel Prize for historical research. Looking beyond tired references to critical thinking, I present the study of history as a crucial vehicle to expose perspectives that intersect with the past, present, and future.

At the same time, the book is designed to introduce readers to methodological issues in an accessible way. I didn’t want to grind out theoretical and abstract issues, which in this context would only alienate readers. Instead, it hints at all sorts of interpretive and practical problems, such as coping with the new digital research universe, to demonstrate the conundrums historians face. With the onslaught of visual evidence in today’s world, I wanted to explore the challenges this poses. I chose creative videos such as Laurie Hill’s Photograph of Jesus, because it combines humour and curiosity with critical archival dilemmas. The book is not written to solve these problems item by item, since this could slow the pace of an energetic narrative. Yet it suggests numerous avenues for further exploration.

This book draws from my experiences as well as those of friends and colleagues in diverse research locations. It is interesting for me to look back at the finished book to see which experiences feature most prominently. The armed guards at the archives in Russia and the subterranean libraries of France have a role to play. But so do the hidden cultural gems of Los Angeles, my adopted home and a city not often associated with intellectual pursuits. The reader will see Los Angeles as a multi-faceted city with more than the glitz and glamour of Hollywood; it has a dynamic web of cultural resources that highlight how diverse historical inquiry can be. If a reader finds him or herself in Los Angeles, they might even decide to stop in at the Tattle Tale Lounge for refreshment and check whether my reference to the locale jibes with reality!

The question in the title is but one of many questions in the book. I just hope readers follow my journey and use these questions to help them pursue their own adventures. Years down the road, I would be happy to hear where those quests took them.

Nigel A. Raab is Associate Professor of History at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

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