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11 oeuvres 138 utilisateurs 1 Critiques

Å’uvres de Philip Pomper

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Nom canonique
Pomper, Philip
Date de naissance
1936
Sexe
male

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This book surveys current thinking on world history and historiography among some of the most respected writers in the field. Four major sections offer two to four essays per section. The works often complement one another, providing contrast or continuation of another author’s arguments; there are several instances of an author explicitly referring to another writer whose work is included in this volume.
The first section deals with defining world history as well as sharpening the definition of terminology. William H McNeill, in “The Changing Shape of World Historyâ€?, provides a short history of world history. He acknowledges that while it may not be possible to write a truly world history, the trend is in the correct direction. McNeill also relates his personal development in writing world history. He feels that he has thrown off some of the influence of Toynbee and has discarded the approach of viewing world history as a series of histories of various civilizations. Bruce Mazlish, in “Crossing Boundaries: Ecumenical, World, and Global Historyâ€?, concentrates on defining the three adjectives mentioned in his title. In discussing definitions, Mazlish refers to McNeill as still being tied to the idea of a civilization as a discrete unit of history (44). Maizlish sees too much blurring of the terms, which in turn leads to inaccuracies in the body of work being done. William A. Green discusses periodization of history; he is interested in how periodization can not only be the result of the study of history, but also in how it can itself shape the study. Green shows that as one moves from the local to the global history, the concept of periods becomes more artificial and arbitrary.

The second section concerns structure and ideologies. Janet Lippman Abu-Lughod discusses ways historians impose their views on history, rather than “just writing what happenedâ€?. She feels the historian has an obligation to be aware of his or her own eccentricities, ideologies and idiosyncrasies, to acknowledge them openly and to ensure that their effects are minimal. She asserts these “sinsâ€? can actually become assets if the historian takes them into proper account (79). Michael Adas grapples with the problem of finding a path of moderation between explaining history in terms of Nationalism, Marxism or other arching concepts or else discarding these framing structures entirely in favor of totally individual agent approach. Adas contends that while these monolithic structures may be useful, it is important to remember history is actually individual persons doing things.
In the third part, Ashis Nandy explores peoples living outside of history. The majority of “traditionalâ€? history assumes a strictly linear approach to time; this method fails when it encounters cultures that perceive time cyclically. The standard methods do not easily account for this type of thinking. The dismissive standard response, ignoring such peoples as unimportant, is no longer adequate. Nandy believes historians owe it to themselves and their readers to find ways to accommodate non-linear temporal paradigms. Lewis D. Wurgaft similarly urges historians to take into account national identities. He recognizes that the concept of a national identity is a charged subject in the post-holocaust world. But he believes historians neglect an important key to understanding by ignoring it. He maintains it is possible to be conscious of national identity without lapsing into racism.

In the final section, Francis Fukuyama and Theodore H. Von Laue speculate on the future of history. Fukuyama’s concept of the “End of Historyâ€? provides a provocative notion that as modernization continues, everything converges into liberal democracy and modified capitalism. Since history has been the record of governmental and economic change, once these states are achieved, he maintains history will reach its natural end. Similarly, Von Laue sees a convergence of cultures. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and interdependent, he sees global history occurring by default since there will eventually be little other choice.

The book provides a distinctive taste of some of the best current trends in history have to offer. It is an excellent devise for whetting the appetite for more of what these writers have to say.
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Signalé
AlexTheHunn | Dec 13, 2005 |

Statistiques

Å’uvres
11
Membres
138
Popularité
#148,171
Évaluation
3.1
Critiques
1
ISBN
16
Langues
1

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