Historiography Through the Lens of the United Fruit Company

Abstract

This research project seeks to investigate the development of the field of history over the twentieth century. At the beginning of the century, much scholarship was studied through the lens of “western civilization,” but by the beginning of the twenty-first century, many scholars transitioned into studying through the perspective of “world history.” To illustrate these changes, this project researches two books written in different time periods about the history of the United Fruit Company. This research uses these works to explore the differences in historiography and to show how the study of a single subject can change over time.