Engaging the Past : The Uses of History Across the Social Sciences

Vigorous historical exploration has increased across the social sciences in the past two decades. Originally published as a series of articles in the journal Social Science History, the essays in this volume provide a guide to historical social science by surveying the use of historical data and methodologies in anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, and geography.
Each essay in Engaging the Past pays close attention to the unique problems and methods associated with its particular social scientific discipline. By exploring questions raised by both contemporary and more established works within each field, the authors show that some of the best and most innovative research in each of the social sciences includes a strong historical component. Thus, as Eric H. Monkkonen’s introduction shows, these essays taken together make it clear that historical research provides a significant key to many of the major issues in the social sciences.
Intended for the growing community of both social scientists and historians interested in reading or researching historically informed social science, Engaging the Past suggests future directions that might be taken by this work. Above all, by providing a set of user’s guides written by respected social scientists, it encourages future boundary crossings between history and each of the social sciences.

Contributors. Andrew Abbott, Richard Dennis, Susan Kellog, Eric H. Monkkonen, David Brian Robertson, Hugh Rockoff

Eric H. Monkkonen is Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles.