Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.47960/2712-1844.2026.12.197
Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Issues of Place-Based History
Vlatko Smiljanić
; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Fakultet hrvatskih studija
Sažetak
This paper investigates the theoretical foundations and methodological framework of place-based history (Croatian: zavičajna povijest) as a specific research orientation situated at the intersection of historiography, ethnology, and interdisciplinary cultural studies. It argues that place-based history, while often mistakenly conflated with microhistory or regional studies, constitutes a distinct approach grounded in the exploration of collective memory, identity formation, and place-rooted historical consciousness. The author provides a systematic conceptual differentiation between place-based, regional, and microhistorical approaches, positioning place-based history as an epistemologically autonomous field concerned with the diachronic and synchronic dynamics of historically embedded localities.
The first part of the paper is devoted to a critical review of the historiographical background that has enabled the emergence of place-based history as a legitimate scholarly practice. It considers the influence of the Annales school, the rise of bottom-up historical perspectives, and the broader shift from political to social and cultural history. Particular attention is paid to the relevance of place-based history in small nations and culturally diverse contexts, where locally grounded narratives often function as repositories of suppressed or neglected historical experience.
In the second part, the author analyses the key methodological challenges that arise in place-based historical research. These include: the selection and triangulation of sources in limited archival environments; the role of oral history and material culture; the articulation of time and space within a specific place-based framework; and the balance between descriptive fidelity and analytical abstraction. The paper emphasises the need for methodological reflexivity, especially in relation to the researcher's positionality and the ethical dimension of engaging with living communities and inherited memory.
A central contribution of the study lies in its clarification of the specific scientific methods applicable to place-based history, distinguishing general scientific methods (such as induction, deduction, analysis, synthesis, and comparison) from those particular to historical inquiry (such as chronology, causality analysis, genealogy, and oral testimony). The author proposes a model in which place-based history serves not only as a descriptive but also as an interpretative and critical mode of historical narration, one that can contribute to broader historiographical debates by virtue of its depth, granularity, and cultural embeddedness.
The paper concludes by affirming the scholarly potential of place-based history to transcend anecdotal or antiquarian limitations. When conducted with analytical rigor and methodological clarity, place-based history can illuminate the ways in which the past continues to structure cultural memory and identity within specific spatial contexts, while simultaneously providing insights into macrohistorical patterns. As such, place-based history is presented not as a marginal or auxiliary field, but as an essential component of a plural and reflexive historiographical landscape.
Ključne riječi
epistemology of history; identity; cultural history; methodology of history; microhistory; place-based history.
Hrčak ID:
351186
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.10.2026.
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