Approaches to Global History: To See the World Whole

Description

This volume brings together 25 defining texts in global history. These pieces cover approaches to the subject from antiquity to the present century and, taken together, show the development of the discipline, providing a solid historiographical, theoretical and methodological overview that will be invaluable for students. The collection gives a unique sense of how, at different times, in different cultural circumstances, students of the past have approached the problems of encompassing the world in a single narrative or theory. This is a reader with an implicit story to unfold. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto tracks how a global understanding of history originated in prophetic writings, how the "Renaissance discovery of the world" multiplied the opportunities for historians to think about history globally, how scientific investigations of change came to exert influence and inspire new thinking among global historians, how "culture wars" ensued between advocates of scientistic and culturalist models and how changing contexts in the 20th century produced new thematic approaches to the world as a whole. Each part is introduced, setting it in context and explaining the impact of its subject matter on the discipline, as well as the relations between the texts and their place in the overall development of global history.

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto is William P. Reynolds Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, USA. Some of his recent publications include 1492: The Year Our World Began (2011), Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration (2006) and The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction (2011).

In spirit, global history is an age-old endeavour. At the same time, each manifestation is highly specific to its moment, with its own particular set of constraints and possibilities. Prof. Fernandez-Armesto shows this with aplomb for the Western tradition, not just through the essays, which are judiciously chosen, but also through his introductory remarks, which are written with flare and a telling eye, highlighting the import of their subject for both students and scholars. * Gagandeep S. Sood, Associate Professor, International History Department, London School of Economics, UK *