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social history
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social history

branch of history
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Article History

social history, Branch of history that emphasizes social structures and the interaction of different groups in society rather than affairs of state. An outgrowth of economic history, it expanded as a discipline in the 1960s. It initially focused on disenfranchised social groups but later began to focus more attention on the middle and upper classes. As a field, it often borders on economic history on the one hand and on sociology and ethnology on the other.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeannette L. Nolen.
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