In this article the author argues for the rapprochement between the methods and questions of the history of historiography and the questionnaire of the sociology of knowledge. The sociological perspective can inspire both the research on the communities of professional historians and the functioning of the historiographical knowledge in social and political structures. The author analyzes diff erent dimensions of the political functions of historiography and emphasizes the diff erence between the utilitarian and scientific aspects of historical knowledge.In this article the author argues for the rapprochement between the methods and questions of the history of historiography and the questionnaire of the sociology of knowledge. The sociological perspective can inspire both the research on the communities of professional historians and the functioning of the historiographical knowledge in social and political structures. The author analyzes diff erent dimensions of the political functions of historiography and emphasizes the diff erence between the utilitarian and scientific aspects of historical knowledge
