Generalisation in History

Generalisation in history

A generalisation is a linkage of disparate or unrelated facts, in time or space, with each other. It is their grouping, their rational classification. Basically, a generalisation is a connection or relationship between facts; it is an ‘inference’ or, as Marc Bloch puts it, ‘an explanatory relationship between phenomena.’ It is the result of the effort to provide an explanation and causation, motivation and effect or impact.

More widely, generalisations are the means through which historians understand their materials and try to provide their understanding of facts to others. Analysis and interpretation of events, etc., is invariably done through generalisations. Generalisation is involved as soon as we perform the two most elementary tasks: classify ‘facts’ or ‘data’ or ‘phenomena’ and compare and contrast them, or seek out similarities and dissimilarities among them, and make any inference from them.

Thus we make a generalisation when we put our facts into a series one after another. For example, when we mention the caste or religion of a leader we are making a generalisation. By connecting the caste and the leader or writer we are suggesting that his or her caste was an important part of his or her personality and, therefore, his or her political or literary work. Or even the mention of his or her age. More comprehensively, a generalisation occurs when we try to understand facts, or make connection between data, objects, events, records of the past through concepts and convey them to others through concepts.

Generalisations may be simple or complex, of low level or of high level.

Low Level: A Low-level generalisation is made when we label a fact or event, or classify it or periodise it.

Middle Level: A middle level generalisation is made when a historian tries to find interconnections among the different elements of the subject under study; for example, when we are studying a segment of the social reality of a time, space or subject bound character.

Wide generalisations or systematising or schematising generalisations: These are made when historians reach out to the largest possible, significant connections or threads that tie a society together. These historians try to study all the economic, political, social, cultural and ecological linkages of a society in an entire era. The historian tries to draw a nation-wide or society-wide or even world-wide picture of these linkages even when he is dealing with a narrow theme.

There can be many sources to generalise our writing such as previous writings, theories of history, society, culture and politics such as those of Marx, Weber and Freud are another major source of generalisation, Careful collection of data and interpretations. Generalisations guide us, they enable us to doubt facts as they appear or as they have been described by contemporaries or later writers; they suggest new possible understanding of old facts; they bring out fresh points and views for confirmation, refutation, further development, further qualification of existing views.

Generalisations help define a student of history’s theme whether in the case of an essay, a tutorial, a research paper or a book. They enable him to take notes – whether from a book, an article, or a primary source. In fact, a student of history’s essay or thesis has to be a series of generalisations to be tested, whether he puts them as statements or questions. Generalisations also enable him to find out which of his notes are significant and relevant to the theme or subject matter of his research.

Generalisations also enable a researcher to react to what he is reading. He can do so only if he is generalising while he is reading. Generalisations lead to debates among historians, otherwise the only reaction to each other’s work among them would be to point out factual mistakes. Generalisations lead historians to pose issues for discussion and debate and to start processes of fruitful discussion among them.

Although there are many objections to generalisation, no writing is possible without using general terms and concepts. These are derived from earlier works and serve as the starting points for the current work. The generalisation may keep changing as the work progresses. However, at every stage, the historians have to make generalisations which provide the basis for understanding their facts and source material.