Abstract
"History" has become "histories," and histories change in response to the dominant values of institutions, cultures, and historiographers (history writers) themselves. The history of rhetoric and associated traditional research agendas strived for objectivity and truth, while contemporary historiographers make claims for unqualified objectivity in their reach for the "truth." Most of the scholars in our field now readily admit the impossibility of getting the story exactly right, let alone recovering an objective truth. Most of us realize that our historiographies will be subjective, given in large part to the interestedness of our research stance and our theoretical grounding. After all, each of us wants history and our view of that history to contribute to the positive value of our daily life. When history does not meet this requirement, we historiographers set to work, revisiting the archives, scouting out new ones, rewriting, and often overturning history. Histories of rhetoric and composition are a case in point.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Working in the Archives |
| Subtitle of host publication | Practical Research Methods for Rhetoric and Composition |
| Publisher | Southern Illinois University Press |
| Pages | 11-27 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| ISBN (Print) | 0809329506, 9780809329502 |
| State | Published - 2010 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Social Sciences