Abstract
This article is the product of the analysis of a controversy between historians Giovanni Levi and Robert Darnton. Three issues were, among others: the first refers to the indication that Darnton would have done the mechanical transposition of the interpretative anthropology for the field of cultural history; the second relates to the problem of relativism in the grounds of interpretation always continued by Darnton; the third follows the hermeneutics influences in Geertz and Darnton demonstrated by Levi. Finally, will be evaluated the implications of theoretical texts written by Levi about the Great cat massacre written by Darnton.
Keywords:
Theory of history; cultural history; micro-history; interpretative anthropology; hermeneutics