MODERN TECHNOLOGIES OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH: CANONS AND IMPROVISATIONS

Abstract

The author of the article considers the problem of interaction of historian and method in the Ukrainian historiographical field in modern conditions of unprecedented expansion of authorial freedoms. Uncertainty about “how we write history” has not yet been overcome. The dissertations of young authors contain such shortcomings as declarative and pointless presentation of the methods of their research, irresponsible juggling of such “fashionable” names as “comparative analysis”, “prosopography”, “oral history”, “everyday history”. The author notes that research technologies, including methods, are not something that has always been in Clio’s box. Technology arises as a result of the desire of historians to be successful, to realize their curiosity, their abilities, their ambitions. He analyzes specific examples of innovative research and shows the specifics and effectiveness of methods such as microanalysis, rich description, oral history, prosopography. He points to the distinct specificity of methods such as psychoanalysis and mathematical methods, so they are an example of a substantive understanding of the method as a research technology. The article shows that the history of everyday life has acquired citizenship rights in Ukrainian historiography since the late 1990s. The publications of the last few years provide the necessary material to see the difference between traditional historiography and the technology of everyday history on the examples of specific research, as well as to understand how this magic works when the essence emerges “from the little things”. After all, these are special little things. Thanks to the talent of the historian, they reflect the whole world like drops of morning dew. As a result, the author reminds that today not only “truth” but also “technique of execution” is important. Not only deep positions, original statements, but also witty tools, elegant course of thought, rich language, demanding style are components of success.