Toward a Theory of Historical Narrative

Book excerpt: "Professor Waldman challenges the prevailing practice in Islamicate historiography by undertaking a multifaceted analysis of a single text--a major historical narrative and a pivotal work in the history of new Persian language and literature since the tenth century: the Ghaznavid period's Ta'rīkh-i Bayhaqī ... Dr. Waldman is able to identify a wide range of phenomena that suggest the close relationship between historical narratives like the one under study and other literary narratives. She demonstrates that theories of narrative developed by literary critics can and should be expanded to account for historical narrative, and explores the potential utility of one critical approach--speech act theory ... Dr. Waldman calls for a dramatic reversal in the traditional ways in which historical narratives have been used by historians--not in order to curtail their function, as some critics would do, to merely confirming what hard evidence suggests--but rather so as to allow them to provide their abundant and unique information about hitherto unappreciated dimensions in the history of language, communication, ideas, and culture"--From book jacket.