Samtímasaga

Samtímasaga er hluti nýaldar og á við um sögulega tímabilið frá árinu 1945 til dagsins í dag.  Samtímasagan er annað hvort hluti af síðnýöld, eða eitt af þremur helstu undirtímabilum nútímasögunnar, ásamt árnýöld og síðnýöld. Hugtakið samtímasaga hefur verið notað í það minnsta síðan snemma á 19. öld. Sjá t.d. Edinburgh review, Volume 12 (1808) p. 480 („There is this general distinction between contemporary history and all other history, —that the former is a witness, the latter a judge. The opinions of a contemporary author on the events which he records, are only then authority, when the impression made on a bystander happens to be a material part of the case; nor is this any exception to the maxim, that his business is to testify, not to lecture. On facts, however, he is paramount evidence; and that, not only in the age immediately succeeding him, but also, which is generally forgotten, to the latest times. The modern historian, who consults original authorities through the-medium of some later predecessor, descends from the character of a judge to that of a faithful reporter of decisions.“)

Tilvísanir

Flokkur:Nýöld