Professional Documents
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Diplomatic History and Intl
Diplomatic History and Intl
Marc Trachtenberg ( born 1946) is a professor of political science at the University of California,
Los Angeles
-He received his PhD in History from the University of California , Berkeley in 1974
-He is an author of following Books:
i.Reparation in world politics :France & European Economic Diplomacy ( Columbia University Pre
,1980)
ii. A constructed peace : The making of the European Settlement ( Princeton University Press,1999)
iii. History & Strategy ( Princeton University Press , 1991)
iv. The Craft of International History : A Guide to Method ( Princeton University Press, 2006
Association & Prizes : Trachtenberg was - a Woodrow-Wilson fellow in 1966-1967;
- a Guggenheim fellow in 1983-1984;
- a German Marshall Fund Fellow in 1994-1995;
- an adjunct research fellow at the John F Kennedy
School of Govts center for Science & International A
in 1986-1987
In 2000,he received the American Historical Associations George Louis Beer Prize
Objective
This piece of writing guides to the historical study of
International Politics. The focus is on the nuts and bolts
of historical research ie on how to use original sources,
analyze and interpret historical works , and actually
write a work of history
The aim of this writing is to open the doors of the
workshop so that young scholars , both historians and
political scientists , can see the sort of thought process
the historians goes through before he or she puts
anything on paper
Questions raised by a Writer at the Outset
Basic understanding may not concrete and fixed for all time
It takes shape – it evolves as you grapple with fundamental
conceptual issues in specific historical contexts
When one reacts for the surety of solid understanding there
should be historical arguments with theoretical resonance
Example : Hiltler to blame for the conflict..AJP Taylor
questioned the conventional wisdom –and said the essential
problem’ in interwar Europe had to be power realities not
assertive intent ( political not moral )
Logic & Clues
We are convinced by certain ideas- by certain lines of
argument but we also develop our thinking by reaching certain
conclusions of a purely factual nature
In Thomas Kuhn time- philosophers of science of his
generation showed interest in the history of Science to
understand the behavioral clues leaving prevailing tradition to
reform the understanding
Kuhn also realized historical conclusions are shaped with
clues
These clues and logics are important to understanding the
basic of International Politics
Historians & Theoretical Writings
Q& A
Discussions
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