History of the present time

The triple border between past, present and future. An analysis from the oral history and normative frameworks

Abstract

This article contemplates the possibilities offered by the history of the present time as a historiographic perspective to conduct critical studies immersed in the reality one intends to analyze. From numerous secondary sources and our research experience, we systematize the existing definitions around this concept by addressing its ontology, questioning its epistemological perspective, and dialoguing with its methodological challenges. Moreover, we analyze two of its sources, sparsely integrated among themselves in the debate of this historiographical perspective: oral sources and normative frameworks. Our approach starts from the premise that an interdisciplinary dialogue between these allows researchers to overcome the limitations of the history of the present time. We conclude that this perspective is promising if researchers can rigorously treat their sources, and if the long durée of historical time is considered.