A Global History of HistoryA global history of historical writing, thought and the development of the historical discipline from the ancient world to the present. This is a definitive guide to human efforts to recover, understand and represent the past, bringing together different historical traditions and their social, economic, political and cultural contexts. Daniel Woolf offers clear definitions of different genres and forms of history and addresses key themes such as the interactions between West and East, the conflict of oral, pictographic, and written accounts of the past and the place of history in society and in politics. Numerous textual extracts and illustrations in every chapter capture the historical cultures of past civilizations and demonstrate the different forms that historical consciousness has taken around the world. The book offers unique insights into the interconnections between different historical cultures over 3000 years and relates the rise of history to key themes in world history. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
1 Foundations | 23 |
2 History during the First Millennium AD | 75 |
3 An Age of Global Violence c 1000 to c 1450 | 119 |
4 History in the Early Modern Empires | 177 |
5 Transatlantic Histories | 233 |
6 Progress and History in the Eurasian Enlightenments | 281 |
7 The Broken Mirror | 345 |
8 Clios Empire | 399 |
9 Babels Tower? History in the Twentieth Century | 457 |
Epilogue | 509 |
515 | |
553 | |
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Common terms and phrases
American ancient annals antiquity appeared authors become beginning British called Cambridge century Chapter China Chinese Christian chronicles civil classical completed contemporary continued critical culture dynasty earlier early eighteenth emperor empire English Enlightenment especially established Europe European example fact figures followed French further genre German Greek historians historical writing historiography human ideas imperial important India influence instance interest Islamic Italy Japan Japanese King knowledge known language late later less lives London major Marxism medieval narrative native natural nineteenth century official oral origins particular past period Persian philosopher political practice present produced progress published recent record Renaissance Roman rule scholars sense social society sources story succession texts things thought tion tradition trans translated truth turn universal West Western written