What is the Difference Between History and Historiography

The main difference between history and historiography is that when you study history, you study the events of the past, whereas when you study historiography, you study the changing interpretations of the past events in the works of individual historians.

History is the study of the past, especially relating to human affairs, whereas historiography is the study of the written history or the study of the writing of history.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is History
– Definition, Features
2. What is Historiography
– Definition, Features
3. Difference Between History and Historiography
– Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

History, Historians, Historiography

What is History

History is the study of the past, especially relating to human affairs. It shows us about the events and incidents that took place in the past. History covers all aspects of human life including, society, culture, politics, economy, intellect, religion, technology, medicine, military developments, science, etc.

The term history can denote the history of the human race, the origin of civilization or even the events related to the conception of a place or an institution. Every place on rather everything on earth has a history. Moreover, it is history that helps us to determine how something came into being, how it evolved over the years, and what made it the object or concept it is today.

History is based on facts and evidence as well as legends, myths. Although we do not consider myths and legends as true events or real records of history, we cannot discard them as utter lies. Certain customs, traditions, as well as information about the past way of life, can be gained by looking at them. Historians use elements like written records of the past, fossils, and artefacts to study history.

What is Historiography

Historiography is the study of the written history or the study of the writing of history. To be more specific, it studies how historians developed history as an academic discipline and analyze the historical work on a particular subject. When you study historiography, you are not studying the events of the past directly, but you are studying the changing interpretations of the past events in the works of individual historians.

The historiography of a particular subject encompasses how historians have studied that subject using certain sources, techniques, and theoretical approaches. For example, what are the sources, techniques, and approaches historians used to analyze the French Revolution? Moreover, we can trace the origins of the discipline of historiography to the 5th century BC to the Histories of Herodotus, who is considered the founder of historiography.

Difference Between History and Historiography

Definition

History is the study of the past, especially relating to human affairs, whereas historiography is the study of the written history or the study of the writing of history.

Nature

When you study history, you study the events of the past, whereas when you study historiography, you study the changing interpretations of the past events in the works of individual historians. Moreover, historiography studies how history was written, who wrote it, and what influenced how it was written.

Conclusion

History is the study of the past, especially relating to human affairs, whereas historiography is the study of the written history or the study of the writing of history. In brief, the main difference between history and historiography is that when you study history, you study the events of the past, whereas when you study historiography, you study the changing interpretations of the past events in the works of individual historians.