The following text discusses historiography.
History "from below" emerged as a deliberate counterpoint to traditional focus on elites, states, and great events. Pioneered by social historians like E.P. Thompson, this approach recovers experiences of peasants, workers, women, and marginalized groups whose perspectives archival records often neglect. The challenge is methodological: elites produced most written records, while ordinary people left fewer traces. Historians have turned to oral history, material culture, and creative readings of official documents for evidence of resistances, adaptations, and perspectives that powerful actors didn't intend to preserve.
What methodological challenge does "history from below" face?
Too many written records from ordinary people overwhelm analysis
Limited documentation of marginalized groups requires creative evidence gathering
Elites left no historical records at all
Oral history techniques do not exist
Correct Answer: B
Choice B is the correct answer. The text states "elites produced most written records, while ordinary people left fewer traces," requiring historians to use "oral history, material culture, and creative readings."
- Evidence: Fewer traces from ordinary people; creative methods needed.
- Reasoning: Standard archives underrepresent marginalized groups.
- Conclusion: Limited documentation requires methodological creativity.
Choice A is incorrect because ordinary people left fewer, not more, records. Choice C is incorrect because elites produced "most" written records. Choice D is incorrect because oral history is one solution mentioned.