Social history also known as new-social history has been defined as History's branch which includes history regarding common people as well as the strategies of theirs with which they used to cope with the life. Among many scholars, in social history's golden-age i.e. in the year 1960s as well as 1970s, this history was major field of growth. Today also it is represented well in the departments of history. In universities of America, from the period 1975 – 1995 a significant increase in the growth rate of history's professor in the subject social history was seen. It increased from thirty-one percent (31 %) to forty-one percent (41 %). There was a fall in the rate of political-historians i.e. it decreased to (thirty) 30 % from forty (40 %).
Old social history, i.e.
before the year 1960, included different topics which were from different part. It was not from military, political, constitutional and diplomatic history. It was topic's hodgepodge without any theme. It usually included the movements of politicians such as Populism. Older-social-history, basically, was matched with political-history, history regarding great-men and intellectual-history.New-social history was totally different from old-social history. It exploded or highlighted on scene that took place in the year 1960s and there by becoming quickly most dominant historiography's style in U.S., Canada and Britain.
There are many sub-fields of social history.
They are highlighted below: -Demographic-history – This is a study which studies history of population and processes of demography, using usually various data of statistics such as census. Inside the social-history, it is said to have significant specialty as it is having solid connections along with demography's larger field.
Black-history – It is also known as African-American-history which studies both Africans as well as African-American in history of America.
Ethnic-history – It is important especially in Canada and U.S., where many important and big encyclopedias have helped in defining this field. This history covers ethnic-group's history.
Labor-history – It studies on worker's social history as well as labor-unions.
History of women – This type of history was being exploded during the year 1970s into the prominence. Today it is represented well in almost every topic of geography.
History relating to gender – It mainly focuses upon the history of women, homosexuality and roles of gender, in actual-behavior's term. It is a segment of cultural-history.
Family-history – In 1970s, it emerged like unique field with very close bonds with sociology and anthropology.