History is a key battleground in our increasingly bitter contemporary culture wars. In the polarized debates over who we are, the cry of ‘You can’t rewrite history’ regularly goes up. And is regularly met with the counterclaim that history needs to be rewritten.

Virtually the only thing both sides can agree on is that the past matters. But why, and in what ways? And is there a route out of our current impasse? These are some of the questions tackled in this episode of the podcast, in which George Miller talks to Robert Gildea, emeritus professor of modern history at Oxford University, about his new book, What is History For?

Along the way, Robert also reflects on his own career as a historian and what it has taught him about the role of history in our present political reality.

Robert Gildea is Professor Emeritus of Modern History at the University of Oxford, and a specialist on French and European history in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2003 he won the Wolfson Prize for History. Follow him on Twitter: @RobertGildea.

Find out more about the book: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/what-is-history-for

The full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/05/16/podcast-why-history-needs-to-be-rewritten/

Timestamps:

1:51 - Robert's attempts to convince his father that he was cut out for a career as a historian

6:18 - What drew you to history?

13:37 - What do historians actually do?

18:38 - What is the trajectory that historians normally follow?

22:40 - Why is history more complicated than a settled body of knowledge?

30:55 - Why history matters, and is still significant in the world today

42:17 - Is it possible to have a truly successful reckoning with the past?

Intro music:

Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax

Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com

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