What is "microhistory"

n. (context history English) The study of the past on a small scale, such as an individual neighborhood or town, as a case study for general trends

Microhistory is the intensive historical investigation of a well-defined smaller unit of research (most often a single event, the community of a village, or an individual). In its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simple case study insofar as microhistory aspires to "[ask] large questions in small places", to use the definition given by Charles Joyner.