Narrativism and the Ideological Dimension of Historical Works

There are several authors who point to the fact that some historical works pursue ideological goals. Hayden White, however, argues that all historical works possess certain ideological dimension. He claims that when historians represent and discuss particular actions, changes in the society, etc., they implicitly respond to the Kantian question „What should I (we) do?" and this is the foundation of the ideological aspect of history. In my paper I discuss White's point and drawing on Frank Ankersmit's account of historical representation I clarify how ideology may enter historical work. In this way I use insights from two leading narrativists to explore ideological dimension of historical works.