Historiografio

Historiografio is the study of historiography, the discipline that examines how history is written and interpreted. It analyzes the methods, sources, standards, and incentives that guide historians in reconstructing the past and explaining its significance.

Historiographic work centers on the relationship between sources and narrative: what is selected, how events are ordered, and what counts as evidence. It also considers the social and intellectual contexts in which histories are produced, including the questions asked by historians and the power relations that influence interpretation.

Key objects include primary sources (documents, inscriptions, artifacts) and secondary sources (monographs, articles). Historiografio evaluates the reliability, bias, and representation of different sources, and how historians handle gaps, contradictions, and contested claims.

Historically, historiography has passed through several major currents. Earlier traditions emphasized factual accuracy and chronological reconstruction. In the 19th century, positivist historiography stressed primary evidence. The 20th century saw schools like the Annales, which highlighted long-term structures; Marxist, feminist, cultural, and postcolonial historiographies foregrounded power, ideology, and culture. In recent decades, microhistory and digital historiography have expanded methods and audiences.

The study of historiography is not only about what happened, but how historians come to know and tell what happened. It supports critical reading of historical claims and awareness of the diversity of interpretations across time and cultures.