시어도어 젤딘과 감성의 역사

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This article aims at introducing Theodore Zeldin's writings to Korean historians. Zeldin is one of the great historians who are popular among the readers in Britain. But his historiography has been criticized by some scholars because his style of writing was very different from that of traditional historians. He did not try to find new historical facts nor to present new interpretations in writing his books such as France 1848-1945, The French, or An Intimate History of Humanity. He only selected the method that used wide historical knowledge to write the history of passions and emotions.<br/>
This attempt to find new form of historiography as a substitute for the traditional one, seems to be originated from his belief that historian should write for common readers. He wrote not only for common people, but also did the history of the present ordinary people. It means writings of the common people, by the common people, and for the common people.<br/>
Zeldin's aim of writing is to seek an answer to the meaning of life. What is life? He emphasized not so much reason or knowledge as emotion and passions. In his books historical knowledge only acts as a rudder for the journey to realize what life is. Is he really a historian? Historical knowledge in itself is not important for him because it is only a mean to find some wisdom for our life.<br/>
Zeldin, after all, seems to be similar to the Encyclopedists in eighteenth-century France or a modern figure of Guru. He is a counselor to teach his readers wisdom of life. Why does historical knowledge seem to come to life again in his writings? Perhaps it is because he is above all the historian for the life of humanity in the future.