This anthology of new essays by an international group of preeminent scholars explores the ground-breaking work of Hayden White, whose thought, beginning with his seminal Metahistory (1973), has revolutionized the way we think about the philosophy of history, historiography, narrative, and the relation between history and literature. Representing a variety of disciplines and approaches, the contributions to this volume testify to the far-reaching effects and significance of White's philosophy of history. Individual essays relate White's ideas to contemporary art, cognitive studies, Heideggerian hermeneutics, experimental history, Kant's transcendental philosophy, analytic philosophy of history, Marxist cultural theory, the Kantian sublime, and American academic historiography. A substantial introduction by the editor traces the genesis of White's philosophy of history, situating it with respect to both the Anglo-American and Continental traditions. The volume also features a previously unpublished essay by White, which offers a concise overview of his later thought, and a "Comment" written specifically for this volume, in which White revisits the question of the philosophy of history.

Editor's Note List of Contributors List of Illustrations Introduction: Choosing the Past: Hayden White and the Philosophy of History Robert Doran 1. History as Fulfillment Hayden White 2. A Cognitivist Approach to Tropology F. R. Ankersmit 3. Deliver Us from A-Historicism: Metahistory for Non-Historians Mieke Bal 4. Hayden White's Hope, or the Politics of Prefiguration Karyn Ball 5. Hayden White and Me: Two Systems of Philosophy of History Arthur C. Danto 6. Uneven Temporalities / Untimely Pasts: Hayden White and the Question of Temporal Form Harry Harootunian 7. Hopeful Monsters or, The Unfulfilled Figure in Hayden White's Conceptual System Hans Kellner 8. Rhetorical Theory / Theoretical Rhetoric: Some Ambiguities in the Reception of Hayden White's Work Gabrielle M. Spiegel 9. Hayden White and Non-non-Histories Richard T. Vann 10. From the Problem of Evil to Hermeneutic Philosophy of History: For Hayden White Gianni Vattimo 11. Comment Hayden White Notes Index