Editing Microhistory (section)

== Approach ==
The most distinctive aspect of the microhistorical approach is the small scale of investigations.{{sfn|Tristano|1996|p=26}} Microhistorians focus on small units in society, as a reaction to the generalisations made by the social sciences which do not necessarily hold up when tested against these smaller units.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Magnússon |first=Sigurdur Gylfi |title='The Singularization of History': Social History and Microhistory within the Postmodern State of Knowledge |journal=[[Journal of Social History]] |volume=36 |issue=3 |year=2003 |page=709 |doi=10.1353/jsh.2003.0054 |s2cid=144942672}}</ref>
For instance, Ginzburg's 1976 work ''[[The Cheese and the Worms]]'' &ndash; "probably the most popular and widely read work of microhistory"{{sfn|Tristano|1996|p=26}} &ndash; investigates the life of a single sixteenth-century Italian miller, [[Menocchio]]. The individuals microhistorical works are concerned with are frequently those whom Richard M. Tristano describes as "little people", especially those considered heretics.{{sfn|Tristano|1996|p=26-27}}

Carlo Ginzburg has written that a core principle of microhistory is making obstacles in sources, such as [[lacuna (manuscripts)|lacunae]], part of the historical account.{{sfn|Ginzburg|1993|p=28}} Relatedly, Levi has said that the point of view of the researcher becomes part of the account in microhistory.{{sfn|Levi|1991|page=106}} Other notable aspects of microhistory as a historical approach are an interest in the interaction of elite and popular culture,{{sfn|Tristano|1996|p=28}} and an interest in the interaction between micro- and macro-levels of history.{{sfn|Tristano|1996|p=27}}

Since the 2010s, historical research has expanded to include the field of “global microhistory,”<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ghobrial |first=John-Paul |date=2019 |title=Global History and Microhistory |url=https://academic.oup.com/past/issue/242/Supplement_14 |journal=Past & Present |issue=Supplement 14 |via=}}</ref> which seeks to combine the detailed focus of microhistorical studies with broader transregional or global perspectives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bertrand |first=Romain |last2=Calafat |first2=Guillaume |date=2018 |title=Global Microhistory: A Case to Follow |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annales-histoire-sciences-sociales-english-edition/article/abs/global-microhistory-a-case-to-follow/0BE435ECBC8A6B5D7796E377D628B022 |journal=Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales - English Edition |language=en |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=3–17 |doi=10.1017/ahsse.2020.9 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref>