
1. What is the difference between historical fiction and narrative history?
~ Historical fiction is an imaginary story set in a historical time period; narrative history is conscious of at least trying to "tell the truth" about what happened while using a story-like format.
@ Historical fiction is an imaginary story set in a historical time period; narrative history is conscious of at least trying to "tell the truth" about what happened while using a story-like format.
a. Historical fiction is entirely made up; narrative history is entirely true.
b. There is no difference, and, according to Simon Schama, neither has any place in a historian's toolkit.
c. Historical fiction and narrative history are the same: both present stories with some fictional plot elements in the framework of a historical setting.
*d. Historical fiction is an imaginary story set in a historical time period; narrative history is conscious of at least trying to "tell the truth" about what happened while using a story-like format.

2. In the following quotation, to which historian does Schama refer? "In the historian of the Peloponnesian War, modern historians have seen an early paragon of objectivity, of critical use of sources, of dispassionate analytical investigation."
~ Schama is referring to Thucydides, the exiled Athenian general.
@ Schama is referring to Thucydides, the exiled Athenian general.
a. Herodotus
*b. Thucydides
c. Tacitus
d. Polybius

3. According to Simon Schama, why might people prefer the work of Herodotus over that, say, of Fernand Braudel?
~ Herodotus presented his historical narrative in a format that was entertaining.
@ Herodotus presented his historical narrative in a format that was entertaining.
a. Fernand Braudel is not considered reliable.
b. Herodotus strove for an objective interpretation of the past.
*c. Herodotus presented his history in a narrative format that was entertaining.
d. Herodotus set out to write historical fiction.

4. Why might Simon Schama's book, _Dead Certainties, Unwarranted Speculations_, be controversial?
~ Schama's presentation of an apparent primary source, which he revealed later in the book to be fiction, threatens modernist historians' ideals of truth and objectivity in historical writing.
@ Schama's presentation of an apparent primary source, which he revealed later in the book to be fiction, threatens modernist historians' ideals of truth and objectivity in historical writing.
a. Schama claims that historians struggle with being impartial.
b. Schama's book, which he presented as if it were history, was actually historical fiction.
*c. Schama presented an apparent primary source as if it were real, only revealing later in the book that it was fiction.
d. Schama's history neglects the voices of subalterns.

5. Schama is NOT advocating 
~ Schama is NOT advocating a complete fictionalization of historical writing. Schama states that he does not believe "the lived past is nothing more than an artificially designed text." According to Schama, no thoughtful commentators really advocate that. Instead, historians should accept that historical knowledge will always be subject to partiality.
@ Schama is NOT advocating a complete fictionalization of historical writing. Schama states that he does not believe "the lived past is nothing more than an artificially designed text." According to Schama, no thoughtful commentators really advocate that. Instead, historians should accept that historical knowledge will always be subject to partiality.
*a. complete fictualization of historical writing.
b. the partiality that is a necessary aspect of historical fiction.
c. postmodern methodologies of writing.
d. the use of modernist historical methodologies.

6. In the section "On the Heights of Abraham," Schama tells the story of a soldier in the _____ army.
~ In the section "On the Heights of Abraham," Schama tells the story of a soldier in the British army.
@ In the section "On the Heights of Abraham," Schama tells the story of a soldier in the British army.
*a. British
b. French
c. Prussian
d. Greek

7. According to Schama, even the most scholarly historical reports
~ According to Schama, even the most scholarly historical reports are subject to the biases of their presenters.
@ According to Schama, even the most scholarly historical reports are subject to the biases of their presenters.
a. present fabricated documents.
b. make commonplace errors.
c. prove that the past is "nothing more than an artificially designed text."
*d. are subject to the biases of their presenter.

8. What does Schama mean when he states: "...so the asking of questions and the relating of narratives need not, I think, be mutually exclusive forms of historical representation."
~ Schama is suggesting that historical methods ("asking of questions" about history) and literary styles of writing ("relating of narratives") can be used together.
@ Schama is suggesting that historical methods ("asking of questions" about history) and literary styles of writing ("relating of narratives") can be used together.
a. Schama is choosing to side with modernist historians' ideal of objective, fact-based, accurate historical writing.
*b. Schama is suggesting that historical methods and literary styles of writing can be used together.
c. Schama is advocating for a complete fictionalization of historical representation.
d. Like Darnton, Schama sees how cultures are like "stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves."

9. Schama's views are clearly influenced by the work of
~ Schama's views are clearly influenced by the work of literary theorists like Roland Barthes, who argued that historical narratives employ literary techniques that embed interpretation into the story.
@ Schama's views are clearly influenced by the work of literary theorists like Roland Barthes, who argued that historical narratives employ literary techniques that embed interpretation into the story.
a. scientific historians like Jared Diamond.
b. idealist thinkers such as Immanuel Kant.
c. Marxist historians such as E. P. Thompson.
*d. literary theorists like Roland Barthes.

10. In the "Afterword" of _Dead Certainties, Unwarranted Speculations_, Schama reveals
~ In the "Afterword" of _Dead Certainties, Unwarranted Speculations_, Schama reveals that the story of the soldier witnessing General Wolfe's death was fiction that attempted to stick to what the real primary sources suggested. The implied question is: If a historical narrative attempts to stick to what primary sources suggest, and historical fiction attempts to stick to what primary sources suggest, what is the difference?
@ In the "Afterword" of _Dead Certainties, Unwarranted Speculations_, Schama reveals that the story of the soldier witnessing General Wolfe's death was fiction that attempted to stick to what the real primary sources suggested. The implied question is: If a historical narrative attempts to stick to what primary sources suggest, and historical fiction attempts to stick to what primary sources suggest, what is the difference?
a. a personal disdain for the modernist historian, which discredits his point of view.
b. that General James Wolfe's last words were not actually "Now, God be praised, I die contented."
*c. that the story of the soldier witnessing General Wolfe's death was fiction that attempted to stick to what the primary documents suggested.
d. that his history was not based on what primary documents suggested.