Young Lamprecht: An Essay in Biography and Historiography
Roger Chickering
The bitter charges that have recently been exchanged in the pages of West German newspapers serve as a reminder long tradition among historians engaging public disputes over substance and methodologies their discipline.' most celebrated these exchanges took place at end last century. It pivoted on work theories Karl Lamprecht, it was resolved utter defeat historian hands leading representatives guild, them Heinrich von Sybel, Max Lenz, Friedrich Meinecke. debate, which quickly became known Methodenstreit, began early 1890s with appearance first volumes Lamprecht's Deutsche Geschichte. In proposed to construct vast morphological schema history from its origins his own day. would, he claimed, make possible synthesis economic, political, moral, artistic dimensions experience successive historical periods, each characterized by dominant tendency, for Lamprecht some years later designated term diapason. He argued, moreover, both emergence given period transition one another were governed developmental laws analogous, if not identical, those natural sciences. These assertions offensive academic imperial Germany, who had trained regard growth state unique process, subject no dynamic save logic history. Offensive too charge had, confining attention development power, systematically excluded broader fields social economic change patterns cultural behavior analysis central, insisted, study nation's Perhaps offensive, fact, claim just how central transformation was, appeared argue motor development, another, lay changing systems exchange. This proposition smacked enough materialism add an ideological
History and Theory