What Is Social History

What Is Social History Social History: What Does It Entail? ChaptersWhat is Social History?What Are Some Aspects a Social Historian Studies?Social History, Economic History and Political History: ConclusionsGender Studies: Re-Evaluating Social HistoryNot interested in political history and the rise and fall of Empires? Curious about how people lived in ancient societies on a day-to-day basis? Then maybe social history is the thing for you.History of MigrationYou might wonder why the history department of a university would be interested in migration.Migration has shaped history since the Early Man first left Africa to colonize the world. To show you their importance, here are some of the great migrations that shook Europe and the Mediterranean and influenced its cultural history:The Sea People migration in the Bronze Age (1200-900 BC) which contributed to the Late Bronze Age Collapse, during which several large Empires of the time including the Hittite Empire, the Mycaenian Kingdom and the Egyptian Empire of the New Kingdom.The Dark Age migra tions, due in part to pressure from the expanding empire of the Huns, led through a process of attrition to the fall of Imperial Rome. The Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain was a migration - the evidence of archaeology suggests that rising poverty drove them from the shores of Germany. These migrations shaped the world of Medieval Europe.Migration to the New World - with its heyday starting in the seventeenth century - had a profound impact on the native societies and led to the creation of the countries of the modern world.The Saxons came to England during a wave of migrations that changed the political map of Europe. Photo credit: EccyLad on Foter.comModern history is also shaped by migration - as evidenced by the internationally destabilising effect of the current immigration crisis in Europe and the US.Studying the history of migrations is understanding how different cultures shaped and influenced our own both from the point of view of history and that of anthropology, rethinking what we think is “British” or “European” in view of ethnic influences and looking at the world from a wider perspective.Read more about the History of diplomacy.Social History, Economic History and Political History: ConclusionsSocial history doesn’t exist in a vacuum - it is influenced by a lot of factors. Economics is one of them.Whether in the twentieth century or the second, economic factors are one aspect to have influenced social phenomena - and vice-versa. The creation of centralised workshops and the specialisation of artisans as a profession made trade easier, while the increasingly widespread use of banks made it possible to do business on a truly international scale, making the merchant class a true force in politics. Poverty breeds dissatisfaction and revolution (ask the French), while the growing working class during the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian age brought a new type of consumer to the market and a new social stratus ready for reform and eager t o break with tradition - eager for a voice of their own in a democracy.Revolution is often an agent of social change. Photo credit: Crethi Plethi on Foter.comThe Cold War fought between capitalism and communism, a clash of both political and economic ideological views, spurred on the race to the moon and fuelled advancements in technology that, in turn, bolstered the economy, at least for a while.Today, the common conflict throughout American history between the concept of a welfare state and unbridled capitalism, a debate raging since Industrialization came across the Pond in the nineteenth century, is coming to a peak.So when you are studying social issues, don’t shy away from a comparative approach. Whether it be political history or intellectual history, history of philosophy or even archaeology for the material remains - it’s all connected. If you want to study social history, consider taking courses in another social science among the humanities. Sociology is another good discipline to gain a theoretical background that will help you find new approaches for studying social phenomena from an interdisciplinary point of view.Gender Studies: Re-Evaluating Social HistoryGender studies often focus on women in history, but generally observe gender roles in society. Photo credit: Kaptain Kobold on Foter.comAn interesting evolution in intellectual historiography is the rediscovery of the role of women within history. Technically, Gender Studies is the study of the relative roles of men and women throughout the centuries; however, the fact that even up to early modern times the study of history focused almost entirely on the male side of the question (unless the woman happened to be in a politically significant role), means that a great many of the themes of modern gender studies centre around rehabilitating women in history and exploring their narrative - from the queens behind the thrones to the role of domestic production within the economy.