Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Durante as décadas de 1980 e 1990, a Western History, campo de estudos que se dedica à história do Oeste norte-americano, enfrentou uma tormenta intelectual de proporções pouco vistas antes em suas searas. O motivo para tal inquietação foi o surgimento da assim chamada “New Western History”, movimento que tinha por principal meta reescrever a história regional a partir de uma completa reestruturação de suas bases intelectuais, para tentar salvar o campo de uma suposta crise de identidade surgida ainda nos anos 1960. Neste caso, o principal alvo destes revisionistas foi a antiga historiografia constituída à imagem das teses de Frederick Jackson Turner sobre a fronteira norteamericana. Aqui, a idéia era substituir uma narrativa histórica considerada excessivamente otimista por uma que realçasse os aspectos trágicos do avanço norte-americano em direção ao Pacífico. Esta tentativa, contudo, de se escrever uma história trágica encontrou forte oposição não só entre segmentos da historiografia profissional, mas também entre elementos da opinião pública, num debate que tinha mais a ver com a própria identidade dos Estados Unidos do que com questões meramente historiográficas. / During the 1980s and 1990s, the Western History, field of studies dedicated to the the history of the American West, went through a intellectual storm of proportions seldom seen before in its midst. The motive for such unrest was the arrival of the so-called “New Western History”, a movement whose main aim was the rewriting of the history of the West from the standpoint of a total reestructuring of the field’s intellectual foundations, in an attempt to save it from a crisis of identity that emerged still in the 1960s. In this case, the revisionists’ main target was the old historiography constituted in the image of Frederick Jackson Turner’s theses about the American frontier. Here, the idea was to substitute a historical narrative considered to be excessively optimistic for one that highlighted the tragic aspects of the American advance to the Pacific. However, this attempt to write a tragic history was met with a fierce opposition not only from segments of the professional historiography, but also from the public opinion itself, in a debate that had more to do with the very identity of the US and less with “mere” historiographical questions.

Durante as décadas de 1980 e 1990, a Western History, campo de estudos que se dedica à história do Oeste norte-americano, enfrentou uma tormenta intelectual de proporções pouco vistas antes em suas searas. O motivo para tal inquietação foi o surgimento da assim chamada “New Western History”, movimento que tinha por principal meta reescrever a história regional a partir de uma completa reestruturação de suas bases intelectuais, para tentar salvar o campo de uma suposta crise de identidade surgida ainda nos anos 1960. Neste caso, o principal alvo destes revisionistas foi a antiga historiografia constituída à imagem das teses de Frederick Jackson Turner sobre a fronteira norteamericana. Aqui, a idéia era substituir uma narrativa histórica considerada excessivamente otimista por uma que realçasse os aspectos trágicos do avanço norte-americano em direção ao Pacífico. Esta tentativa, contudo, de se escrever uma história trágica encontrou forte oposição não só entre segmentos da historiografia profissional, mas também entre elementos da opinião pública, num debate que tinha mais a ver com a própria identidade dos Estados Unidos do que com questões meramente historiográficas. / During the 1980s and 1990s, the Western History, field of studies dedicated to the the history of the American West, went through a intellectual storm of proportions seldom seen before in its midst. The motive for such unrest was the arrival of the so-called “New Western History”, a movement whose main aim was the rewriting of the history of the West from the standpoint of a total reestructuring of the field’s intellectual foundations, in an attempt to save it from a crisis of identity that emerged still in the 1960s. In this case, the revisionists’ main target was the old historiography constituted in the image of Frederick Jackson Turner’s theses about the American frontier. Here, the idea was to substitute a historical narrative considered to be excessively optimistic for one that highlighted the tragic aspects of the American advance to the Pacific. However, this attempt to write a tragic history was met with a fierce opposition not only from segments of the professional historiography, but also from the public opinion itself, in a debate that had more to do with the very identity of the US and less with “mere” historiographical questions.

Durante as décadas de 1980 e 1990, a Western History, campo de estudos que se dedica à história do Oeste norte-americano, enfrentou uma tormenta intelectual de proporções pouco vistas antes em suas searas. O motivo para tal inquietação foi o surgimento da assim chamada “New Western History”, movimento que tinha por principal meta reescrever a história regional a partir de uma completa reestruturação de suas bases intelectuais, para tentar salvar o campo de uma suposta crise de identidade surgida ainda nos anos 1960. Neste caso, o principal alvo destes revisionistas foi a antiga historiografia constituída à imagem das teses de Frederick Jackson Turner sobre a fronteira norteamericana. Aqui, a idéia era substituir uma narrativa histórica considerada excessivamente otimista por uma que realçasse os aspectos trágicos do avanço norte-americano em direção ao Pacífico. Esta tentativa, contudo, de se escrever uma história trágica encontrou forte oposição não só entre segmentos da historiografia profissional, mas também entre elementos da opinião pública, num debate que tinha mais a ver com a própria identidade dos Estados Unidos do que com questões meramente historiográficas. / During the 1980s and 1990s, the Western History, field of studies dedicated to the the history of the American West, went through a intellectual storm of proportions seldom seen before in its midst. The motive for such unrest was the arrival of the so-called “New Western History”, a movement whose main aim was the rewriting of the history of the West from the standpoint of a total reestructuring of the field’s intellectual foundations, in an attempt to save it from a crisis of identity that emerged still in the 1960s. In this case, the revisionists’ main target was the old historiography constituted in the image of Frederick Jackson Turner’s theses about the American frontier. Here, the idea was to substitute a historical narrative considered to be excessively optimistic for one that highlighted the tragic aspects of the American advance to the Pacific. However, this attempt to write a tragic history was met with a fierce opposition not only from segments of the professional historiography, but also from the public opinion itself, in a debate that had more to do with the very identity of the US and less with “mere” historiographical questions.

This thesis introduces China's contemporary history especially the period 1949-1976 based on the analysis of selected British and American historiography. Through the criticism and comparison of British and American scholars' discourse, this thesis will obtain a deeper understanding of China's history. This thesis regards Mao Zedong as the main China's historical figure, as well as the construction of new China as the main line of writing. So the position of Mao and the Chinese Communist Party during the period of the construction of new China is an important part to discuss in this thesis. The thesis mainly talks about the period 1949-76 of China from the perspective of political and economic policies and movements, international relations, social issues, military actions and cultural movements. In addition, this thesis also emphasizes on discussing the angles, methodology and terminology of British and American historiography on China's contemporary history.