'History from below’ does not necessarily lead to ideologically-committed historiography. As long as the perspective from below is approached methodologically, we can use that perspective to tell the big story differently - or correct it. There are numerous examples that show that the dominant historical narrative must be put into perspective. Some tell the story of minorities by means of individual autobiographical sources. Microhistorians work differently. They study individuals using all the resources they can find to gain insight into broader issues without assuming their subjects automatically serve as representative for larger groups. What does microhistory mean to biographers and historians? This paper explores that issue by considering how the stories of Major W. Martin and of Simon Leys could change our outlook on world history.

Professor Hans Renders holds a Chair in the History and Theory of Biography and is Director of the Biography Institute (Groningen University). He serves as Chair of the national digital Biographical Portal in Sweden and as a book reviewer for the paper Het Parool and Historisch Nieuwsblad. He has published widely on the theory of biography, including Theoretical Approaches to Biography (Brill, Boston/Leiden 2014) and The Biographical Turn, Lives in History (with Binne de Haan and Jonne Harmsma, Routledge, London/New York 2017). He has published two full length biographies (Jan Hanlo, 1998), Jan Campert (2004) and is now working (in collaboration with Sjoerd van Faassen) on the biography of Theo van Doesburg.