“Some kind of empathy”: Introduction to What makes history personal?

Abstract

This theme section tackles the question “What makes history personal?” The four articles included in the issue present some possible strategies to begin to answer the question, often by reminding us of the need to overcome key dichotomies, such as the separation between mind and body, between scientific knowledge and emotions, between language and experience, between the work and the reader, between concepts and literary form, and between professional obligation and engagement with current political circumstances. The attitudes and formulations proposed in the four articles are intimately linked to these dichotomies, arising from thoughtful rereading and rethinking of the core challenges. Phenomenology and the concept of empathy especially stand out in these investigations, although both are approached from different perspectives and empirical bases.