Historiskhistorisk

Historiskhistorisk is a neologism used primarily in scholarly discussions to denote a meta-historical approach that scrutinizes not only past events but also the historiographical processes by which those events are recorded and interpreted. The word is formed by reduplication of the adjective historisk, meaning historical, and serves to emphasize reflexivity about history itself rather than its substantive content alone.

Etymology and form: The construction is characteristic of Scandinavian languages, where reduplication can intensify meaning. In print, historiskhistorisk may appear as a single word or with a hyphen (historisk-historisk), depending on the author or journal style. Its usage remains rare and not standardized.

Usage and scope: In practice, historiskhistorisk analyses may examine how archival practices, source curation, or transcription norms shape the telling of the past and how contemporary power dynamics influence which narratives are amplified. It is most often encountered in theoretical essays within historiography, memory studies, or digital humanities.

Relation to other terms: It overlaps with metahistory and historiography but is distinct in its explicit emphasis on the historical status of sources and narrators through reduplication. Some scholars see it as a clarifying shorthand, while others view it as opaque neologism.

See also: historiography; metahistory; narrative theory; memory studies.