Date of Birth: 
About Keith Jenkins
- Keith Jenkins (1943) is a British historiographer.
- Jenkins studied medieval and modern history as well as political theory at The University of Nottingham.
- Like Hayden White and "postmodern" historiographers, Jenkins believes that any historian's output should be seen as a story.
- A work of history is as much about the historian's own world view and ideological positions as it is about past events.
- This means that different historians will inevitably ascribe different meanings to the same historical events.
- Nevertheless, all historians are constrained by the common body of historical evidence (or "artifacts"). Jenkins consistently works to undercut and move readers beyond "traditional" and "moribund" histories.
- He believes that history is "promiscuous" and therefore lends itself to each historian's interpretation.
- Therefore, history ought to end, and Jenkins desires "the era or the raising of consciousness of the aporia...
- of the undeniability of the decision and incredulity towards metanarrative".
- However, despite arguing for the end of history, Jenkins also accepts the possibility of experimental histories written "beyond the limits of the academic genre".
- He further acknowledges that history will neither be quick nor easy to let go.He is the author of Re-thinking History (1991) and On "What is History" : From Carr and Elton to Rorty and White (1995), edited The Postmodern History Reader (1997), and is the author of Why History? Ethics and Postmodernity (1999).
- With Alun Munslow he co-authored The Nature of History Reader (2004), in which key pieces of writing by leading historians are reproduced and evaluated, with an explanation and critique of their character and assumptions.
- "Re-thinking History" is simultaneously his first and best-known book.
- A theme issue of the journal Rethinking History was dedicated to his work and a critical account has been published by Dr.
- Alexander Macfie in June 2012 in Reviews in History, a publication of the Institute of Historical Research. Jenkins retired from the position of professor of historical theory at the University of Chichester in 2008.
Read more at Wikipedia