History from below

History from below is a form of historical narrative which was developed as a result of the Annales School and popularised in the 1960s. This form of social history focuses on the perspectives of regular individuals within society as well as individuals and regions that were not previously considered historically important. This includes women and the working class as well as regions such as India or Africa.

The term was first popularized by E.P. Thompson in an article in the Times Literary Supplement in 1966.

The first history of this type done was largely on modern history. Journals and letters are easily found; in even more recent eras audio interviews are also possible with those who have lived through them. In ancient studies the lives of the common individual were far less often recorded. However, as time has progressed historians have become more and more aware of the vast amounts of government records that date back many centuries. Sources such as tax records, coroner's inquests, court records, property deeds, and mnay other sources are only now beginning to be analysed.

Early history from below was closely linked to Marxist history, but in recent years that close connection has begun to disappear. Before the modern period Marxist notions such as class and poltical consciousness have very little sway and historians have thus turned to other theories.

History from below is far more likely to draw on other fields than is history from above. It is closely linked with economics and economic history, it also draws heavily upon sociology and anthropology. Archeology also plays an important role. In recent years even more ecletic fields have been drawn upon such as nutrition sciences.

Historians in this field:

• Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie
• Carlo Ginzburg
• Barbara A. Hanawalt
• Alan Macfarlane
• Eugene D. Genovese