Abstract
In this brief essay, the links between the Annales, the works of Michael Foucault, and microhistory are analyzed through the theoretical lens of histoire des mentalités (mentalités). Common threads that link these approaches include the willingness of using outside fields of analysis as well as the willingness to work with vagueness in search of those who Foucault calls, “lost people.” Relatedly, each of these groups and individuals are willing to analyze all aspects of the historical record to fully understand the minds, cultures, and histories of past people. The key to recognizing the relationship of these approaches involve knowing and acknowledging their differences whist trying to understand them in their own words. Furthermore, understanding the nuisances of each group as well as learning how to utilize them “cohesively is a positive step toward a total history of humankind.”
Recommended Citation
Rose, Jason U.
(2021)
"Mentalités and the Search for Total History in the Works of Annalistes, Foucault, and Microhistory,"
The Hilltop Review: Vol. 12:
Iss.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/hilltopreview/vol12/iss2/8
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Medieval History Commons, Renaissance Studies Commons
