ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Metahistory (concept)

Meta-history is like a giant story that people tell about the past, but it's not just any story. It's a story about how people have told stories throughout history. So, imagine you're playing with your toys and telling your friends a story about your day, that's just regular history. But if you started talking about how your parents and grandparents told stories about their own childhoods, that would be like meta-history.

It's like looking at how stories about the past and the way people tell them have changed over time. Think about how our view of history changes depending on who is telling the story, and how the same event can be interpreted in many different ways. Meta-history is about examining these different perspectives and understanding how they have influenced our understanding of the past.

In simpler terms, meta-history is like a story about stories. It helps us understand how people have made sense of the past and how different perspectives have shaped our understanding of history.