New Social History

he following paper presents an analysis on the article on Social History titled, "The history standards controversy and social history - Special Issue: Social History and the American Political Climate - Problems and Strategies", by Gary B. Nash.

The study of social history as one of the most important academic subjects for our present and future generation has been marked by a wave of controversies and issues that have made the subject all the more controversial. In particular are the lines of history critics, majority of who have targeted the absence of a particular 'synthesis, overarching themes, or even coherent structures' which have been replaced with new genre of people including women, the rising labor class, as well as religious and racial minorities.

Though it is also true to acknowledge that the same characteristics of history as noted above duly evolved from the entire generation of Americans and formed what we have come to regard as the western experience. Yet, the study of social history in the new realm provides more than similar contributions as it includes original American society as it were in the past. In addition, if one were to include the above said groups of populations and regard them as sources of present and continued crisis, this then leads one to deduce that these are certainly not the sources of crisis, instead are a cover up of 'monopolistic hold of property' that appears to be shattering. Examples of writings to this respect include such works as "The Jacksonian Age of the Common Man", The Westward Movement", "The Progressive Era", and "Affluent Society" . (Scott, 1989)

Another stronger reasoning for the present breed of critics of social history to 'attack, or oppose' social history evolves from the contention that social history in fact opens up and reveals the singular and more than dominant nature of politics