As a field of study, international political economy suffers from a significant historical deficit. Where this deficit is recognized, it is most commonly addressed by adding 'historical context' to the inquiry, as in the injunction to place globalization into its proper historical context. While this is a useful and necessary first step, it does not adequately address the problem of 'historicizing' IPE. In order to genuinely historicize IPE, we must first acknowledge the element of reflection which infuses each level of social inquiry, from how the object of investigation is framed and explored to how agency is considered in relation to particular issues. This means going beyond context and actors to ask what constitutes the form of knowledge appropriate to uncovering and remaking the social world. Historicizing IPE, in other words, demands that we interrogate our aims and purposes as openly as we explore the subject under study.