Varför Storbritannien? : Svenska uppslagsverk och det historiska förklaringsperspektivet (1907-1998)

Sammanfattning: Title: Why Great Britain? – Swedish Encyclopaedias and the Explanatory Perspective of History, Essay in History   Abstract In my essay I describe how Swedish 20th century encyclopaedias interpret the coming about of the British Empire, the overall purpose being to establish a pattern of evolution in terms of historical understanding on the part of the encyclopaedic literature. Firstly, I have tried to determine whether the presentations at all constitute explanatory efforts. In those cases where they do, I have sought to ascertain whether the reasons put forward are to be understood as structural and stable, or as matters of less permanence. I have also tried to link these interpretations to significant “constructions” of history – i. e: to important theories within this discipline. Finally, I have tried to discern a diachronic pattern, both in regard to explanatory efforts and in regard to the grounds for explanation (time perspective and construction). I have also tried to establish a relationship between explanatory effort and grounds for explanation. As far as the explanatory efforts themselves are concerned, no diachronic pattern emerged. As for time perspective and construction, a significant shift had occurred between the youngest and oldest encyclopaedias. The former discussed conditions of little permanence created by historical actors, while the latter stressed the significance of structural, more stable, conditions. The intermediate period, however, held varying perspectives in terms of time and construction. I also found that the explanatory effort itself, seemed to affect these perspectives.