This document analyzes Perry Anderson's book "The New Old World" and whether it can be considered a work of transnational history. It discusses two key issues: Anderson's avoidance of direct comparison between nation states and his focus on political elites as drivers of integration. While Anderson examines ideas and forces crossing borders, in line with transnational history, his rejection of comparison as a method and narrow focus on political actors differs from transnational theory's prescriptions. The document analyzes these issues in depth and questions whether Anderson's approach provides useful insights for critiquing transnational history paradigms.
This document provides a summary of the life and work of historian Fustel de Coulanges. It describes him as a powerful thinker who developed an original historical method focused on exhaustive analysis of primary sources. His major works included La Cite Antique, which analyzed ancient Greek and Roman institutions as originating from ancestor worship, and Institutions Politiques de l'Ancienne France, examining early French political systems. The document evaluates both the strengths and limitations of his logical but narrowly focused approach to history.
The document discusses Lawrence Stone's argument that there has been a revival of narrative history due to a decline in "big why" questions and generalizing models of historical explanation. The author agrees there has been a shift toward more diverse topics, but argues historians still aim to provide coherent explanations of change. Reasons for shifts include addressing new complexities from expanding fields, and succeeding in prioritizing certain topics without abandoning explanation. Some prefer starting with specific situations that exemplify structures rather than structures alone.
- Jason Stanley gave a talk discussing the rise of ultranationalist, far-right movements across the world and arguing that fascism presents a threat even without authoritarian leaders. He defines fascism as an ideology opposed to liberal democracy that seals groups off from outsiders and justifies inhumane treatment of others.
- Stanley asserts that characterizing politics as a simple left-right spectrum is inaccurate, as positions often mix and match elements and labels can be misleading. However, he argues that fascism denies equality and is emerging exclusively from current right-wing elements in countries like Poland, France, Turkey, Germany, and the United States.
This document discusses the concept of "historiographic metafiction", a type of postmodern fiction that is both metafictional and historical in its references to past texts and contexts. It argues that postmodern fiction engages with both literary and historical intertexts through parody and intertextuality. By embedding these intertextual pasts, postmodern fiction both asserts and questions notions of history and literature as human constructs. This doubles as a formal marking of historicity. The document provides examples of novels that exemplify historiographic metafiction, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude and The French Lieutenant's Woman.
Marx dobie, ann theory into practice - marxist criticismInvisible_Vision
The document analyzes Karl Marx's theory of historical materialism and Marxist literary criticism through examining Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Diamond Necklace". It discusses how the economic system depicted in the story divides society into bourgeoisie and proletariat classes based on ownership of property and means of production. Madame Loisel, as a member of the proletariat class, has no power or opportunity for social mobility. The story reveals how the internal contradictions of capitalism cause ongoing class struggle and psychological damage by commodifying possessions. A Marxist analysis seeks to uncover these dynamics to further the proletariat revolution against the bourgeoisie.
Literature Between Materiality and Virtuality - Galway 2015Giorgio Guzzetta
The document discusses the relationship between humanities and computing. It touches on several topics:
1) The emergence of "humanities computing" as a field that brings together the humanities and computing, seen by some as an oxymoron.
2) Debates around "distant reading" digital humanities approaches that use algorithms and data at large scales versus traditional close reading.
3) The history of literature and how its definition emerged in the 16th-17th century within an "analytico-referential" framework influenced by mathematics. This framework became unstable later on.
4) Turing's early work on computing machines and how it shifted to focus more on emulating human skills
Presentation Summary: Listeners will be introduced to the topics of loci of control, attributions, and calibration. The speaker will use logical arguments to persuade the listener that internal and external loci of control are both appropriate in different situations, and will provide a framework for loci of control that considers calibration.
Created by Richard Thripp and presented on 5/04/2016 at Port Orange Toastmasters to fulfill Project 2: The Proposal from the Technical Presentations manual in the Toastmasters Advanced Communication Series.
T2. Locus of Contro-Are You in Charge of Your DestinyKalyani Barma
This document discusses the concept of locus of control, which refers to whether individuals believe they have control over events in their life (internal locus) or external factors are primarily responsible (external locus). The passage uses examples of two students, Supriya with an internal locus who believes her efforts determine her success, and Megha with an external locus who attributes her average performance to external factors. Having a purely internal or external locus is not optimal; balance is preferable. The locus of control impacts motivation, self-direction and sense of responsibility. Tips are provided for developing greater self-awareness of one's own locus of control.
This document provides a summary of the life and work of historian Fustel de Coulanges. It describes him as a powerful thinker who developed an original historical method focused on exhaustive analysis of primary sources. His major works included La Cite Antique, which analyzed ancient Greek and Roman institutions as originating from ancestor worship, and Institutions Politiques de l'Ancienne France, examining early French political systems. The document evaluates both the strengths and limitations of his logical but narrowly focused approach to history.
The document discusses Lawrence Stone's argument that there has been a revival of narrative history due to a decline in "big why" questions and generalizing models of historical explanation. The author agrees there has been a shift toward more diverse topics, but argues historians still aim to provide coherent explanations of change. Reasons for shifts include addressing new complexities from expanding fields, and succeeding in prioritizing certain topics without abandoning explanation. Some prefer starting with specific situations that exemplify structures rather than structures alone.
- Jason Stanley gave a talk discussing the rise of ultranationalist, far-right movements across the world and arguing that fascism presents a threat even without authoritarian leaders. He defines fascism as an ideology opposed to liberal democracy that seals groups off from outsiders and justifies inhumane treatment of others.
- Stanley asserts that characterizing politics as a simple left-right spectrum is inaccurate, as positions often mix and match elements and labels can be misleading. However, he argues that fascism denies equality and is emerging exclusively from current right-wing elements in countries like Poland, France, Turkey, Germany, and the United States.
This document discusses the concept of "historiographic metafiction", a type of postmodern fiction that is both metafictional and historical in its references to past texts and contexts. It argues that postmodern fiction engages with both literary and historical intertexts through parody and intertextuality. By embedding these intertextual pasts, postmodern fiction both asserts and questions notions of history and literature as human constructs. This doubles as a formal marking of historicity. The document provides examples of novels that exemplify historiographic metafiction, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude and The French Lieutenant's Woman.
Marx dobie, ann theory into practice - marxist criticismInvisible_Vision
The document analyzes Karl Marx's theory of historical materialism and Marxist literary criticism through examining Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Diamond Necklace". It discusses how the economic system depicted in the story divides society into bourgeoisie and proletariat classes based on ownership of property and means of production. Madame Loisel, as a member of the proletariat class, has no power or opportunity for social mobility. The story reveals how the internal contradictions of capitalism cause ongoing class struggle and psychological damage by commodifying possessions. A Marxist analysis seeks to uncover these dynamics to further the proletariat revolution against the bourgeoisie.
Literature Between Materiality and Virtuality - Galway 2015Giorgio Guzzetta
The document discusses the relationship between humanities and computing. It touches on several topics:
1) The emergence of "humanities computing" as a field that brings together the humanities and computing, seen by some as an oxymoron.
2) Debates around "distant reading" digital humanities approaches that use algorithms and data at large scales versus traditional close reading.
3) The history of literature and how its definition emerged in the 16th-17th century within an "analytico-referential" framework influenced by mathematics. This framework became unstable later on.
4) Turing's early work on computing machines and how it shifted to focus more on emulating human skills
Presentation Summary: Listeners will be introduced to the topics of loci of control, attributions, and calibration. The speaker will use logical arguments to persuade the listener that internal and external loci of control are both appropriate in different situations, and will provide a framework for loci of control that considers calibration.
Created by Richard Thripp and presented on 5/04/2016 at Port Orange Toastmasters to fulfill Project 2: The Proposal from the Technical Presentations manual in the Toastmasters Advanced Communication Series.
T2. Locus of Contro-Are You in Charge of Your DestinyKalyani Barma
This document discusses the concept of locus of control, which refers to whether individuals believe they have control over events in their life (internal locus) or external factors are primarily responsible (external locus). The passage uses examples of two students, Supriya with an internal locus who believes her efforts determine her success, and Megha with an external locus who attributes her average performance to external factors. Having a purely internal or external locus is not optimal; balance is preferable. The locus of control impacts motivation, self-direction and sense of responsibility. Tips are provided for developing greater self-awareness of one's own locus of control.
The document discusses how Jesuits acted as knowledge brokers between Europe and China from 1582 to 1773, shaping European views of China. It argues that while scholars largely attribute the shift from European admiration to disdain for China to endogenous changes in Europe, the Jesuits also contributed through how they transmitted information. As the sole intermediaries between the cultures, Jesuits' personal motivations and barriers to cross-cultural understanding impacted the one-dimensional image of China conveyed to Europe. This image contributed to later Orientalist views by reducing China and using it to define European identity.
This document proposes a six-volume book series titled "Making Europe: Technologies and Transformations, 1850-2000". The series will explore how various European spaces were constructed and integrated since 1850 through technological developments and their social implications. Each of the six volumes will focus on a different aspect of technological change in Europe, such as infrastructure networks, consumer goods, media and communication, expertise and innovation, and will analyze how technologies helped shape the European integration process. The proposal provides details on the scope and themes of each volume, the authors involved, marketing and sales plans, and notes that the series builds on over a decade of collaborative research on the history of technology in Europe.
This document is a thesis submitted in 2014 to the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. It examines the relationship between UNESCO, the State Party of Ukraine, and the city of L'viv regarding the preservation of L'viv as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The thesis will explore L'viv's nomination process to become a World Heritage site, the subsequent requirements and reports from UNESCO, and the political issues that have arisen between L'viv and the capital city of Kiev. It will also address the need for greater public education in L'viv about the preservation of the historic sites. The thesis utilizes documents from UNESCO and Ukraine, as well as interviews with L'viv city officials
· Coronel & Morris Chapter 7, Problems 1, 2 and 3
· Coronel & Morris Chapter 8, Problems 1 and 2
A People’s History of Modern Europe
“A fascinating journey across centuries towards the world as we experience it today. ... It is
the voice of the ordinary people, and women in particular, their ideas and actions, protests
and sufferings that have gone into the making of this alternative narrative.”
——Sobhanlal Datta Gupta, former Surendra Nath Banerjee
Professor of Political Science, University of Calcutta
“A history of Europe that doesn’t remove the Europeans. Here there are not only kings,
presidents and institutions but the pulse of the people and social organizations that shaped
Europe. A must-read.”
——Raquel Varela, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
“Lively and engaging. William A Pelz takes the reader through a thousand years of
European history from below. This is the not the story of lords, kings and rulers. It is the
story of the ordinary people of Europe and their struggles against those lords, kings and
rulers, from the Middle Ages to the present day. A fine introduction.”
——Francis King, editor, Socialist History
“This book is an exception to the rule that the winner takes all. It highlights the importance
of the commoners which often is only shown in the dark corners of mainstream history
books. From Hussites, Levellers and sans-culottes to the women who defended the Paris
Commune and the workers who occupied the shipyards during the Carnation revolution in
Portugal. The author gives them their deserved place in history just like Howard Zinn did
for the American people.”
——Sjaak van der Velden, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam
“The author puts his focus on the lives and historical impact of those excluded from
power and wealth: peasants and serfs of the Middle Ages, workers during the Industrial
Revolution, women in a patriarchic order that transcended different eras. This focus not
only makes history relevant for contemporary debates on social justice, it also urges the
reader to develop a critical approach.”
——Ralf Hoffrogge, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
“An exciting story of generations of people struggling for better living conditions, and for
social and political rights. ... This story has to be considered now, when the very notions of
enlightenment, progress and social change are being questioned.”
——Boris Kagarlitsky, director of Institute for globalization studies and social
movements, Moscow, and author of From Empires to Imperialism
“A splendid antidote to the many European histories dominated by kings, businessmen
and generals. It should be on the shelves of both academics and activists ... A lively and
informative intellectual tour-de-force.”
——Marcel van der Linden, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam
A People’s History
of Modern Europe
William A. Pelz
First published 2016 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.pluto.
The document provides an overview of the field of international relations. It discusses the following key points:
- International relations emerged as a formal academic discipline in 1919, drawing on fields like political science, economics, and law.
- Major theories studied in international relations include realism, liberalism, Marxism, and constructivism. Realism focuses on state security and power, while liberalism emphasizes cooperation.
- The modern international system developed out of European colonial expansion and the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which established principles of state sovereignty.
- Major events like the French Revolution and decolonization shaped the current global order of independent nation-states. However, some states operate outside this
Interpretive essay example. Interpretive Essays: Examples, Topics .... Outstanding Interpretive Essay ~ Thatsnotus. 005 Interpretive Essay Example How To Write An Plato Republic Myp .... How to Write an Interpretive Essay - Homework Writing Services. Working Knowledge of Interpretive Planning and Principles, the .... How to Write an Interpretive Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide. Interpretative Essay Structure. Impressive Sample Interpretive Essay ~ Thatsnotus. 011 Sample Interpretive Essay Example Student2bsample ~ Thatsnotus. 008 Interpretive Essay Example Examples Poem Essays On Poems Doit Ip ....
This document discusses the relationship between anecdotes and history. It argues that while anecdotes have existed for a long time in various forms, they have an ambiguous relationship with history. On one hand, anecdotes can support and illustrate points in history by providing examples. However, anecdotes can also challenge official histories by presenting alternative perspectives or unusual events not included in traditional narratives. The document uses the example of an anecdote about Wittgenstein and Popper arguing to illustrate how anecdotes can raise historiographical problems when eyewitness accounts conflict. It then analyzes how anecdotes have been used and interpreted in different eras and genres of writing history.
Introduction: what is comparative literature Today ?JanviNakum
Abstract
There have been various definitions of comparative literature, which greatly varies from one scholar to another, but they all agree that it is one of the most modern literary sciences. Throughout the past two decades, new critical theories, such as gender-based criticism, translation studies, deconstruction and Orientalism, have changed approaches to literature and accordingly have had a profound impact on the work of the comparatists.
Sooner or later, anyone who claims to be working in comparative literature has to try and answer the inevitable question : What is it ? The simplest answer is that comparative literature involves the study of texts across cultures, that it is interdisciplinary and that it is concerned with patterns of connection in literature across both time and space.( Bassnett, p.1). "Everywhere there is connection, everywhere there is illustration," as Matthew Arnold puts it. According to Susan Bassnett, everybody who is interested in books is on the path to comparative literature.
Key Arguments
A comparative analysis you should have already read for different prominent writer for instance Chaucer, Shakespeare, Baudelaire, Poe, Joyce.
●Comparative Literature revolves around the study of literature outside the borders of one particular culture, the study of relations between literature on the one hand and other areas of human expression such as philosophy on the other hand. Critics have also related it to history as it examines the convergence (junction) of different literatures and its historical aspects of influence, considering that Comparative Literature is the essence of the history of literature, beyond the scope of one culture or language
●Another arguments is there west students of 1960 claimed that comparative literature could be put in single boundaries for comparative literature study, but she says that there is no particular method used for claiming.
●Critics at the end of the twentieth century, in the age of postmodernism, still wrestle with the same questions that were posed more than a century ago :
What is the object of the study in comparative literature?
How can comparison be the objective of anything?
If individual literatures have canon, what might a comparative canon be?
How can be comparatist select what to compare ?
Is comparative literature a discipline? Or is it simply a field of study ?
Introduction: What is comparative Literature Today ?
Susan Bassnett says that most of the people do not start with comparative literature but they end up with it in some way or other. Generally, we, first start reading the text and then we arrive at comparison. I mean to say, we start comparing that text with another that has similarities and dissimilarities. Comparative Literature emerged in 19th century. Comparative Literature is different from national literature, general literature and world literature. It was begun as “Literature Compare” in 1860 in Germany.
This document discusses postmodernism and how it reacted against modernism. Postmodernism questions scientific theories and allows for more subjectivity compared to modernism. It emphasizes inclusion, freedom, and cooperation in society. Postmodernism lacks a clear doctrine but is evident in the distinction between eras from the 1860s to 1950s and from the 1950s to present day. It advocates for inclusivity and democracy by recognizing unjust perspectives.
A Thing Or Two About Absolutism And Its HistoriographyRachel Doty
This article examines the contested concept of "absolutism" in historiography. While some scholars argue it is an anachronistic term that should be abandoned, the author believes it can describe a portion of early modern political thought. The essay addresses debates around absolutism, including whether it refers to the theories of absolutist thinkers or the practices of early modern monarchies. It also suggests the term "absolutisms" may better capture the plural political languages and opinions of the past. The author proposes a new methodological approach and definitions to understand absolutism, addressing both its complexity and role as a troublesome historiographical category.
1) The document discusses different viewpoints or styles that historians use to investigate and write about history, ranging from broad overviews to more focused examinations to empathetic and opinion-driven works.
2) It argues that viewpoints closer to Herodotus' original conception of objective investigation and documentation, like broad overviews and focused examinations of specific events, tend to be more valid as historical sources.
3) More subjective viewpoints that rely on personal opinion or emphasize small details over larger contexts, while still useful, are generally less valid as tools for understanding history.
This document provides an overview of the history and development of the field of history. It discusses how history evolved from a focus on political and military narratives to a more empirical, evidence-based social science. Key approaches discussed include empiricism, Marxism, psychohistory, the Annales school, and historical sociology. The document also examines how Christianity shaped the idea of history in European culture by introducing concepts of linear time and the uniqueness of historical events.
Postmodernism Essay
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The newsletter provides information about new staff members and research activities at the Centre for Transnational History at the University of St Andrews. Two new staff members are introduced: Sarah Easterby-Smith who researches the global connections between France, Britain, and other countries in the 18th century, and Heidi Mehrkens who is conducting a transnational study comparing the interactions of British, French, and Prussian heirs to the thrones with constitutional states from 1815-1914. Upcoming research seminars and a summer school on revisiting European history from margins are announced. Current research projects, PhD projects, partner organizations, and recent lectures given by centre members are also summarized.
Political Philosophy during the RenaissanceAmin Sadeghi
A Master student's interpretation of the state of political philosophy during the Renaissance: 14th-17th century European, Italian, Northern, and English Renaissance.
Bibliotheca Digitalis. Reconstitution of Early Modern Cultural Networks. From Primary Source to Data. DARIAH / Biblissima Summer School, 4-8 July 2017, Le Mans, France.
2nd day, July 5th – Establishing Prosopographical data.
Prosopographical data and Cultural networks in the Early Modern Europe.
Aurélien Ruellet – Early Modern History Lecturer, University of Maine, Le Mans.
Abstract: https://bvh.hypotheses.org/3310#conf-ARuellet
This document provides an overview and reviews of Alan Cassels' book "Ideology and International Relations in the Modern World". The book traces the role of ideology in international relations over the past two centuries, starting with how the French Revolution injected ideology into interstate politics. It discusses ideologies like Marxism-Leninism, Fascism, Nazism, conservatism, liberalism, and nationalism. The book takes an unusual historical approach by focusing on the influence of various ideologies rather than just political realities. It aims to incorporate both ideological and political factors into understanding international relations.
15.5/20
Political life of the European Medieval Culture
The European high Middle Ages, lasted from about 1050 to 1300, suggest for most people a cultural interval between the standard period of the Greeks and Roman society and the Renaissance. The idea is on contrary to High Middle Ages which was a dynamic period that developed the identity of the European and development being stimulated by the interactions of the European with other cultures in the Mediterranean and the Eurasia. Most of the political and social forms and institutions afterward connected to the European history were founded in the times of this era. Comment by student: Essentially this is your thesis statement
This paper looks into the political life of the European Medieval Culture and its contribution to the recent politics in the European Society. It is believed that the political organization that exists in Europe now was something that began in the ancient times. These political practices were inherited, carried from one generation to another, being shaped and changed depending on the new experiences and innovations in life. The paper is therefore to give the correct an understanding of how the European political life developed up to where it stands now and what led to the changes that were made to make up the modern politics in the European society. The paper therefore comes out to argue that several upcoming factors in the medieval culture of Europe helped in the shaping of the current European political practices.
Bibliography
Alphabetical order
AlSayyad, Nezar, and Manuel Castells. Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam: politics, culture, and citizenship in the age of globalization. Lexington Books, 2002.
This article is important as it looks into the changing of realities and identity perception within the Europe. There is the need for full acknowledgement of the fact of ethnic diversity and religion. Muslim population got themselves part of a complex procedure of the European identity reconstruction and deconstruction from the above and below. The existence of the Islam within the European borders is pushing the reexamination of what it stands to be European, and giving profound and confusing questions about citizenship issues, civil society participation, and political recognition and being included or excluded. This article therefore gives why the composition of the Europe is full of the Christian population as compared to Muslim and what led to this and the distribution of the two religions. This also gives the making of the laws according to the religion that holds the power most, and thus in Europe the political life was some howsomehow most guided by the Christian religion. This therefore come up with religion as one of the factors that contributed to the political power in the European with Christians being many as compared to the Muslims thus controlling a large part of the Europe.
Anderson, James. "The shifting stage of politics: new medieval.
The document discusses how Jesuits acted as knowledge brokers between Europe and China from 1582 to 1773, shaping European views of China. It argues that while scholars largely attribute the shift from European admiration to disdain for China to endogenous changes in Europe, the Jesuits also contributed through how they transmitted information. As the sole intermediaries between the cultures, Jesuits' personal motivations and barriers to cross-cultural understanding impacted the one-dimensional image of China conveyed to Europe. This image contributed to later Orientalist views by reducing China and using it to define European identity.
This document proposes a six-volume book series titled "Making Europe: Technologies and Transformations, 1850-2000". The series will explore how various European spaces were constructed and integrated since 1850 through technological developments and their social implications. Each of the six volumes will focus on a different aspect of technological change in Europe, such as infrastructure networks, consumer goods, media and communication, expertise and innovation, and will analyze how technologies helped shape the European integration process. The proposal provides details on the scope and themes of each volume, the authors involved, marketing and sales plans, and notes that the series builds on over a decade of collaborative research on the history of technology in Europe.
This document is a thesis submitted in 2014 to the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. It examines the relationship between UNESCO, the State Party of Ukraine, and the city of L'viv regarding the preservation of L'viv as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The thesis will explore L'viv's nomination process to become a World Heritage site, the subsequent requirements and reports from UNESCO, and the political issues that have arisen between L'viv and the capital city of Kiev. It will also address the need for greater public education in L'viv about the preservation of the historic sites. The thesis utilizes documents from UNESCO and Ukraine, as well as interviews with L'viv city officials
· Coronel & Morris Chapter 7, Problems 1, 2 and 3
· Coronel & Morris Chapter 8, Problems 1 and 2
A People’s History of Modern Europe
“A fascinating journey across centuries towards the world as we experience it today. ... It is
the voice of the ordinary people, and women in particular, their ideas and actions, protests
and sufferings that have gone into the making of this alternative narrative.”
——Sobhanlal Datta Gupta, former Surendra Nath Banerjee
Professor of Political Science, University of Calcutta
“A history of Europe that doesn’t remove the Europeans. Here there are not only kings,
presidents and institutions but the pulse of the people and social organizations that shaped
Europe. A must-read.”
——Raquel Varela, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
“Lively and engaging. William A Pelz takes the reader through a thousand years of
European history from below. This is the not the story of lords, kings and rulers. It is the
story of the ordinary people of Europe and their struggles against those lords, kings and
rulers, from the Middle Ages to the present day. A fine introduction.”
——Francis King, editor, Socialist History
“This book is an exception to the rule that the winner takes all. It highlights the importance
of the commoners which often is only shown in the dark corners of mainstream history
books. From Hussites, Levellers and sans-culottes to the women who defended the Paris
Commune and the workers who occupied the shipyards during the Carnation revolution in
Portugal. The author gives them their deserved place in history just like Howard Zinn did
for the American people.”
——Sjaak van der Velden, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam
“The author puts his focus on the lives and historical impact of those excluded from
power and wealth: peasants and serfs of the Middle Ages, workers during the Industrial
Revolution, women in a patriarchic order that transcended different eras. This focus not
only makes history relevant for contemporary debates on social justice, it also urges the
reader to develop a critical approach.”
——Ralf Hoffrogge, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
“An exciting story of generations of people struggling for better living conditions, and for
social and political rights. ... This story has to be considered now, when the very notions of
enlightenment, progress and social change are being questioned.”
——Boris Kagarlitsky, director of Institute for globalization studies and social
movements, Moscow, and author of From Empires to Imperialism
“A splendid antidote to the many European histories dominated by kings, businessmen
and generals. It should be on the shelves of both academics and activists ... A lively and
informative intellectual tour-de-force.”
——Marcel van der Linden, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam
A People’s History
of Modern Europe
William A. Pelz
First published 2016 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.pluto.
The document provides an overview of the field of international relations. It discusses the following key points:
- International relations emerged as a formal academic discipline in 1919, drawing on fields like political science, economics, and law.
- Major theories studied in international relations include realism, liberalism, Marxism, and constructivism. Realism focuses on state security and power, while liberalism emphasizes cooperation.
- The modern international system developed out of European colonial expansion and the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which established principles of state sovereignty.
- Major events like the French Revolution and decolonization shaped the current global order of independent nation-states. However, some states operate outside this
Interpretive essay example. Interpretive Essays: Examples, Topics .... Outstanding Interpretive Essay ~ Thatsnotus. 005 Interpretive Essay Example How To Write An Plato Republic Myp .... How to Write an Interpretive Essay - Homework Writing Services. Working Knowledge of Interpretive Planning and Principles, the .... How to Write an Interpretive Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide. Interpretative Essay Structure. Impressive Sample Interpretive Essay ~ Thatsnotus. 011 Sample Interpretive Essay Example Student2bsample ~ Thatsnotus. 008 Interpretive Essay Example Examples Poem Essays On Poems Doit Ip ....
This document discusses the relationship between anecdotes and history. It argues that while anecdotes have existed for a long time in various forms, they have an ambiguous relationship with history. On one hand, anecdotes can support and illustrate points in history by providing examples. However, anecdotes can also challenge official histories by presenting alternative perspectives or unusual events not included in traditional narratives. The document uses the example of an anecdote about Wittgenstein and Popper arguing to illustrate how anecdotes can raise historiographical problems when eyewitness accounts conflict. It then analyzes how anecdotes have been used and interpreted in different eras and genres of writing history.
Introduction: what is comparative literature Today ?JanviNakum
Abstract
There have been various definitions of comparative literature, which greatly varies from one scholar to another, but they all agree that it is one of the most modern literary sciences. Throughout the past two decades, new critical theories, such as gender-based criticism, translation studies, deconstruction and Orientalism, have changed approaches to literature and accordingly have had a profound impact on the work of the comparatists.
Sooner or later, anyone who claims to be working in comparative literature has to try and answer the inevitable question : What is it ? The simplest answer is that comparative literature involves the study of texts across cultures, that it is interdisciplinary and that it is concerned with patterns of connection in literature across both time and space.( Bassnett, p.1). "Everywhere there is connection, everywhere there is illustration," as Matthew Arnold puts it. According to Susan Bassnett, everybody who is interested in books is on the path to comparative literature.
Key Arguments
A comparative analysis you should have already read for different prominent writer for instance Chaucer, Shakespeare, Baudelaire, Poe, Joyce.
●Comparative Literature revolves around the study of literature outside the borders of one particular culture, the study of relations between literature on the one hand and other areas of human expression such as philosophy on the other hand. Critics have also related it to history as it examines the convergence (junction) of different literatures and its historical aspects of influence, considering that Comparative Literature is the essence of the history of literature, beyond the scope of one culture or language
●Another arguments is there west students of 1960 claimed that comparative literature could be put in single boundaries for comparative literature study, but she says that there is no particular method used for claiming.
●Critics at the end of the twentieth century, in the age of postmodernism, still wrestle with the same questions that were posed more than a century ago :
What is the object of the study in comparative literature?
How can comparison be the objective of anything?
If individual literatures have canon, what might a comparative canon be?
How can be comparatist select what to compare ?
Is comparative literature a discipline? Or is it simply a field of study ?
Introduction: What is comparative Literature Today ?
Susan Bassnett says that most of the people do not start with comparative literature but they end up with it in some way or other. Generally, we, first start reading the text and then we arrive at comparison. I mean to say, we start comparing that text with another that has similarities and dissimilarities. Comparative Literature emerged in 19th century. Comparative Literature is different from national literature, general literature and world literature. It was begun as “Literature Compare” in 1860 in Germany.
This document discusses postmodernism and how it reacted against modernism. Postmodernism questions scientific theories and allows for more subjectivity compared to modernism. It emphasizes inclusion, freedom, and cooperation in society. Postmodernism lacks a clear doctrine but is evident in the distinction between eras from the 1860s to 1950s and from the 1950s to present day. It advocates for inclusivity and democracy by recognizing unjust perspectives.
A Thing Or Two About Absolutism And Its HistoriographyRachel Doty
This article examines the contested concept of "absolutism" in historiography. While some scholars argue it is an anachronistic term that should be abandoned, the author believes it can describe a portion of early modern political thought. The essay addresses debates around absolutism, including whether it refers to the theories of absolutist thinkers or the practices of early modern monarchies. It also suggests the term "absolutisms" may better capture the plural political languages and opinions of the past. The author proposes a new methodological approach and definitions to understand absolutism, addressing both its complexity and role as a troublesome historiographical category.
1) The document discusses different viewpoints or styles that historians use to investigate and write about history, ranging from broad overviews to more focused examinations to empathetic and opinion-driven works.
2) It argues that viewpoints closer to Herodotus' original conception of objective investigation and documentation, like broad overviews and focused examinations of specific events, tend to be more valid as historical sources.
3) More subjective viewpoints that rely on personal opinion or emphasize small details over larger contexts, while still useful, are generally less valid as tools for understanding history.
This document provides an overview of the history and development of the field of history. It discusses how history evolved from a focus on political and military narratives to a more empirical, evidence-based social science. Key approaches discussed include empiricism, Marxism, psychohistory, the Annales school, and historical sociology. The document also examines how Christianity shaped the idea of history in European culture by introducing concepts of linear time and the uniqueness of historical events.
Postmodernism Essay
Essay On Postmodernism
An Overview of Postmodernism Essay
The Impact Of Postmodernism
Essay on Postmodern condition
Postmodernism Essay
Postmodern Art Essay
The newsletter provides information about new staff members and research activities at the Centre for Transnational History at the University of St Andrews. Two new staff members are introduced: Sarah Easterby-Smith who researches the global connections between France, Britain, and other countries in the 18th century, and Heidi Mehrkens who is conducting a transnational study comparing the interactions of British, French, and Prussian heirs to the thrones with constitutional states from 1815-1914. Upcoming research seminars and a summer school on revisiting European history from margins are announced. Current research projects, PhD projects, partner organizations, and recent lectures given by centre members are also summarized.
Political Philosophy during the RenaissanceAmin Sadeghi
A Master student's interpretation of the state of political philosophy during the Renaissance: 14th-17th century European, Italian, Northern, and English Renaissance.
Bibliotheca Digitalis. Reconstitution of Early Modern Cultural Networks. From Primary Source to Data. DARIAH / Biblissima Summer School, 4-8 July 2017, Le Mans, France.
2nd day, July 5th – Establishing Prosopographical data.
Prosopographical data and Cultural networks in the Early Modern Europe.
Aurélien Ruellet – Early Modern History Lecturer, University of Maine, Le Mans.
Abstract: https://bvh.hypotheses.org/3310#conf-ARuellet
This document provides an overview and reviews of Alan Cassels' book "Ideology and International Relations in the Modern World". The book traces the role of ideology in international relations over the past two centuries, starting with how the French Revolution injected ideology into interstate politics. It discusses ideologies like Marxism-Leninism, Fascism, Nazism, conservatism, liberalism, and nationalism. The book takes an unusual historical approach by focusing on the influence of various ideologies rather than just political realities. It aims to incorporate both ideological and political factors into understanding international relations.
15.5/20
Political life of the European Medieval Culture
The European high Middle Ages, lasted from about 1050 to 1300, suggest for most people a cultural interval between the standard period of the Greeks and Roman society and the Renaissance. The idea is on contrary to High Middle Ages which was a dynamic period that developed the identity of the European and development being stimulated by the interactions of the European with other cultures in the Mediterranean and the Eurasia. Most of the political and social forms and institutions afterward connected to the European history were founded in the times of this era. Comment by student: Essentially this is your thesis statement
This paper looks into the political life of the European Medieval Culture and its contribution to the recent politics in the European Society. It is believed that the political organization that exists in Europe now was something that began in the ancient times. These political practices were inherited, carried from one generation to another, being shaped and changed depending on the new experiences and innovations in life. The paper is therefore to give the correct an understanding of how the European political life developed up to where it stands now and what led to the changes that were made to make up the modern politics in the European society. The paper therefore comes out to argue that several upcoming factors in the medieval culture of Europe helped in the shaping of the current European political practices.
Bibliography
Alphabetical order
AlSayyad, Nezar, and Manuel Castells. Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam: politics, culture, and citizenship in the age of globalization. Lexington Books, 2002.
This article is important as it looks into the changing of realities and identity perception within the Europe. There is the need for full acknowledgement of the fact of ethnic diversity and religion. Muslim population got themselves part of a complex procedure of the European identity reconstruction and deconstruction from the above and below. The existence of the Islam within the European borders is pushing the reexamination of what it stands to be European, and giving profound and confusing questions about citizenship issues, civil society participation, and political recognition and being included or excluded. This article therefore gives why the composition of the Europe is full of the Christian population as compared to Muslim and what led to this and the distribution of the two religions. This also gives the making of the laws according to the religion that holds the power most, and thus in Europe the political life was some howsomehow most guided by the Christian religion. This therefore come up with religion as one of the factors that contributed to the political power in the European with Christians being many as compared to the Muslims thus controlling a large part of the Europe.
Anderson, James. "The shifting stage of politics: new medieval.
15.520Political life of the European Medieval Culture.docx
Perry Anderson’s
1. 1
Essay: Perry Anderson’s “The New Old World”: a work of transnational
history?
Student Number: S1366802
Historical Research: Approaches to History
Dr David Kaufman
11th April 2014
2. 2
Perry Anderson’s “The New Old World”: a work of transnational history?
At first glance an account of European integration in the second half of the twentieth
century written by an historian seems an uncontroversial member of the category
“transnational histories.” This essay will contend that matters are more complicated
than that, and that an assessment of the extent to which Anderson’s work belongs to
that category will enable conclusions to be drawn about the nature of transnational
history and the possibility of applying a transnational paradigm to study of the
European Union and its history. Two definitional matters will require careful
distinction. First, there is an abyss between the ideal of European integration and its
reality. The ideal and the reality are frequently conflated in writing on the topic. Does
the term ‘European integration’ refer to what Gillingham calls “negative
integration…the removal of all barriers to the free movement of factors of production
within the Community” or do we mean “positive integration…the attempt to
orchestrate a set of uniform practices into being by state intervention”1 and ultimately
the creation of a federal state? The implications of this question for the usefulness of a
transnational approach to the history of European integration will be discussed at
length further; but here it is important simply to note the flexibility of the term
‘European integration’ and the dichotomy between the ideal of integration and its
reality. The second issue of taxonomy relates to the term ‘transnational history’,
which, like ‘European integration’ does not present sharp contours. Cohen and
O’Connor’s suggestion that “cross-national histories follow topics beyond national
boundaries”2is broad. This essay will attempt to show how some topics are truly
transnational (and require a transnational paradigm) whilst others are merely
posturing as transnational issues and can be better dealt with using different
approaches. Given the vastness of the area apportioned to transnational history by
standard definitions, the reader would be justified in questioning any attempted
limitation of the field. Discussion of Anderson’s work and its theoretical and
methodological conditions may at least offer some support for a refining of Cohen
and O’Connor’s definition.
1 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 91-92
2 Deborah Cohen and Maura O’Connor “Introduction: Comparative History,
Cross-National History, Transnational History- Definitions” in Comparison and
history: Europe in cross-national perspective New York: Routledge 2004 p. xii
3. 3
I
From the outset, Anderson identifies the problem facing historians and shaping their
choice of historiographical approach: “…the EU is unquestionably a polity…yet in
the life of the states that belong to it, politics…continues to be overwhelmingly
internal.”3Anderson sets himself the task of holding “both levels steady within a
single focus”4and reviews the historical literature of European integration, discerning
three types: “specialized studies of the complex institutions that comprise the EU;
broad-brush histories of the continent since the Second World War…and national
monographs of one kind or another.”5These three types are rejected by Anderson as
inadequate to the task at hand. It can be noted that none of these approaches could
claim to be ‘transnational’ even in the broadest sense of the term. In contrast,
Anderson intends to contribute towards a “republic of letters in the European
Union”6which has thus far been lacking due to the “self-satisfaction of Europe’s elites
[which] has become such that the Union is now widely presented as a paragon for the
rest of the world.”7This intellectual complacency is both cause and effect of what
Bayly alludes to in writing of “the histories of European national empires [which]
continue to command great public admiration…as the precursors of today’s
‘humanitarian interventionism.’”8Anderson’s purpose in writing is thus, to some
extent, polemical and fits- at this level- with a commonplace aim of transnational
history, the destruction of myths of ‘exceptionalism’.
Central to Anderson’s concern is the introduction of a clarifying distinction with
regard to the notion of ‘European integration’. Anderson wishes to write an account
which does not blur the distinction between the European Union as a political entity
per se and the historical processes in various European states which led to the creation
of the Union and its political and judicial instruments. The structure of the book is
3 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. xi.
4 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. xi.
5 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. xi.
6 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. xvii.
7 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. xv.
8 Christopher Bayly “History and World History” in A Concise Companion to
History Oxford: University Press p. 14.
4. 4
telling in this regard; analytical studies dealing with the European Union itself entitled
‘Origins’, ‘Outcomes’, ‘Theories’, ‘Antecedents’ and ‘Prognoses’ frame national
studies (more or less in the tradition of national monographs) on France, Germany,
Italy, Turkey and Cyprus. Anderson himself acknowledges that “the movement of
analysis…which runs from the supranational to the national and back to the
supranational, is staccato rather than legato. The different levels of enquiry are
juxtaposed, not integrated.”9There is significance in this approach (whether chosen
freely or imposed by the subject itself) for consideration of a transnational historical
paradigm. The first point to discuss is a negative one: Anderson, by situating his
enquiry starkly in the “two arenas”10-supranational and national- seems to eschew the
comparative approach which is, arguably, the essential element of the transnational
paradigm. Indeed, Anderson’s decision to write chapters on particular nations has
been criticised: Philippe Schmitter “failed to understand their connection their
connection with the more analytical chapters dealing with European integration at the
beginning and end.”11Anderson’s national studies seem to operate on a vertical axis.
They describe the domestic political energies which urged the processes of European
integration culminating in the Treaty of Maastricht and the later enactment of
monetary union; but in this history, the European Union is treated (albeit with
significant qualifications) as a kind of supranational nation state. Where a
transnational approach would urge a “sceptical stance towards the nation as the chief
organizing category of history”12and furthermore propose “comparison as a heuristic
tool”13Anderson, far from scepticism about nations as organizing categories, adds yet
another ‘nation’ in the shape of the European Union into the historical mix and
contents himself with juxtaposing rather than comparing the resultant national
histories he has produced. Then does this mean that connections cannot be made
9 Perry Anderson “After the Event” in New Left Review 73 January-February 2012
p. 49
10 Perry Anderson “After the Event” in New Left Review 73 January-February
2012 p. 49
11 Philippe Schmitter “Classifying An Anomaly” New Left Review 73 January-
February 2012 p. 19.
12 Deborah Cohen and Maura O’Connor “Introduction: Comparative History,
Cross-National History, Transnational History- Definitions” in Comparison and
history: Europe in cross-national perspective New York: Routledge 2004 p. xiii.
13 Deborah Cohen and Maura O’Connor “Introduction: Comparative History,
Cross-National History, Transnational History- Definitions” in Comparison and
history: Europe in cross-national perspective New York: Routledge 2004 p. xvi.
5. 5
between Anderson’s work and the practice of transnational history? Anderson’s
response to this criticism- while avoiding familiar transnational language and
categories- is to point to the political aim of the book. He aims to attack “the
widespread conformism of media opinion…[and] surprising intellectual parochialism-
a lack of any genuinely European public sphere”14which will only be overcome
“when political curiosity can cross national borders in a natural to-and-fro.”15To this
answer-which seems compelling and relevant to a consideration of transnational
history, the question arises: why, then, include the chapters analysing the European
Union? Anderson himself argues that “in the life of states that belong to [the EU],
politics- at an incomparably higher level of intensity- continues to be overwhelmingly
internal.”16 That being so, why consider the EU at all except en passant in a history so
thoroughly situated in the political? These questions highlight the- unique- difficulties
of writing a history of European integration: the EU is substantially
“unprecedented.”17This granted, the comparative approach favoured by transnational
historians falters for lack of terms of comparison. The institutions of the Union can
neither be compared with similarly named national institutions (there is, for example,
no similarity except the purely nominal between the British parliament and the
European Parliament which “possesses no common electoral system: no permanent
home…no power of taxation…no say over executive appointments…no right to
initiate legislation”18) nor are there any other supranational bodies which can provide
a point of reference. Comparison fails before the sui generis. Anderson’s approach of
‘juxtaposition’ thus seems vindicated for the moment; discussion of ‘comparison’ in
transnational history will return later.
Perhaps Anderson’s chapter ‘Origins’ would come closest to explicit utilisation of
transnational approaches of following “the object [of study] between regions, cities,
14 Perry Anderson “After the Event” in New Left Review 73 January-February
2012 p. 49-50.
15 Perry Anderson “After the Event” in New Left Review 73 January-February
2012 p. 50.
16 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. xi.
17 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. xi.
18 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 23.
6. 6
groups, and traditions, crossing national borders whenever this [is] necessary.”19In
this chapter, Anderson critically engages with scholarly interpretations of the origins
of European integration. Briefly, Anderson reviews the neo-functionalist account,
“dominant in early scholarship,” which argued that “the forces underlying post-war
integration of Western Europe should be sought in the growth of objective…
interdependencies between the states.”20He moves on to a lengthy engagement with
the neo-realist description which stresses “the structural resilience of the nation-state
and see[s] the post-war integration of Western Europe…as the means of
reinvigorating effective national power.”21Alan Milward’s neo-realist account
receives particular attention, seeing as it does European integration as the “pursuit of
narrow self interest”22 on the part of nation states. Finally, Anderson gives his own
synthesis in which he identifies four main “forces behind the process of
integration,”23namely, Monnet’s intention to create a framework to avoid future
European wars, American desire for a strong Western Europe in the face of Soviet
expansion, French desire for superiority vis a vis Germany and German determination
to reprise its place as a European power.24In adverting to the role of nation states
(both within and without Europe) is Anderson at last on transnational ground? Is it
comparison of domestic policies and privileging of these (he speaks approvingly of
Milward’s axiom “Primat der Innenpolitik”25) that would allow a reader to construe
his work in transnational terms? Some caution is required here:
“transnationalism…clearly goes beyond a repackaged diplomatic or international
historical approach. It brings a whole range of new actors and extends its field of
vision from the political to the social.”26Accepting for the sake of argument this rather
peremptory stipulation, Anderson’s work would be discounted from the genus
‘transnational history.’ Anderson’s narrative casts politicians, diplomats and other
elites as the protagonists in European integration; and when he diverts from these it is
19 Pierre-Yves Saunier “Learning by Doing: Notes about the Making of the
Palgrave Dictionary of Transnational History” p. 8.
20 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 3-4.
21 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 4.
22 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 5.
23 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 20.
24 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 21
25 Perry Anderson “The New Old World” London: Verso 2009 p. 7
26 Matthew Hilton and Rana Mitter “Introduction” Past and Present (2013)
Supplement 8 p. 14.
7. 7
to examine and attribute principle causative power to traditional abstractions like the
economy. For all that, however, Anderson’s thesis remains plausible. Supiot takes
Anderson’s argument that the economic interests of global elites lie behind or are the
motive of the four ‘forces of integration’ he has previously identified and places them
in a global-historical perspective. Europe, Supiot argues-following Anderson- is
aiding the creation of a global economy which “combines limitless economic freedom
for the ruling class with a dramatic curtailment of democracy and working-class
rights.”27Hilton and Ritter’s interest in seeing ‘a whole range of new actors’ play their
part in transnational history and an extension of ‘the field of vision from the political
to the social’ presupposes a particular political viewpoint-and one which does not- in
spite or because of the breadth and width of vision of the transnational vision-
necessarily correspond to the identification of historical causes. This will be discussed
in more depth later; suffice to say that thus far we have been able to see something of
the extent to which Anderson makes common cause with the transnational historians.
This can perhaps be summarised (crudely) by saying that insofar as Anderson is
concerned with ideas and forces which cross borders (the ideal of European
integration, the economic inducements for it, the structures of political and diplomatic
motivations, the wellbeing of global economic elites and so on) there is a sympathy
between the transnationals and Anderson. But where transnational theorists become
prescriptive- demanding comparison as a privileged methodology, requiring the
identification of ‘new actors’, insisting on a distinction between the political and the
social- Anderson’s work stands in contradiction to the transnational paradigm.
Assuming that, notwithstanding this opposition, Anderson’s history is a valid account
of European integration, his work may provide signposts towards a radical critique of
transnational historical paradigms.
27 Alain Supiot “Under Eastern Eyes” New Left Review 73 January-February 2012
p.34.
8. 8
II
Comparison first. As we have seen, Anderson avoids comparison as a method in
favour of a ‘juxtaposition’ of case studies and analytical accounts.28There are two
main arguments in favour of Anderson’s approach. The first is an argument grounded
in the specifics of the subject matter and has already been rehearsed above: in
essence, the indeterminacy of the European Union and its institutions and their
uniqueness in global terms make comparison impossible. There are some further,
complex theoretical reasons militating against the availability of a comparative
approach in this case. Firstly, on a theoretical level, comparison can be regarded as
part of the process of self definition; institutions, no less than individuals, proceed
along a sort of via negativa with regard to other institutions and organisations and this
leads to a self-definition. Indeed, “comparison is the process of relational self-
definition.”29That comparison can (and perhaps should) be rejected as a technique
applicable to the history of European integration and the construction of the European
Union is suggestive therefore of an amphibology present in the identity of the
institutions themselves. There is a cleft between the idea of European integration (as
in for example, Monnet’s vision of a federal Europe) and the reality of the institutions
of such integration. It is not that the institutions of Europe (European parliament,
Commission, legal instruments such as the Treaty of Maastricht and so on) do not live
up to the ideal: it is rather that the institutions do not really live at all as political
realities. Hence Anderson’s concern to include national studies- for it is at the level of
the nation that politics really take place. “European institutions have been
characterized not by the separation but by the confusion of powers”30and this
confusion has the effect of halting the ‘process of self definition.’ Hence these
Potemkin institutions, unreal as they are, are not patient of comparison.
28 For the purposes of this writing I assume that there is a difference between
‘comparison’ and ‘juxtaposition’ although I am aware that others, for example
Micol Seigel, regard juxtaposition as part of a comparative process.
29 Micol Seigel “Beyond Compare: Comparative Method after the Transnational
Turn” Radical History Review 91 Winter 2005 p. 64.
30 Alain Supiot “Under Eastern Eyes” New Left Review 73 January-February 2012
p.31.
9. 9
The second argument in favour of Anderson’s approach is a more general questioning
of comparative approaches in transnational history. Seigel and Michael Miller
enumerate the pitfalls of comparison on a theoretical level. For Miller, the chief
problem of comparison is that it “substitutes static categories for an accurate depiction
of time and place…relies upon ‘orthodox versions’ of national histories and…cannot
challenge the conventional wisdom.”31For Seigel “comparisons obscure the workings
of power.”32On the contrary, Anderson’s juxtapositionary account of European
institutions lays bare the workings of power by identifying behind the unreality of the
institutions “Hayek’s ultraliberal ‘catallaxy’…[which] is…the special kind of
spontaneous order produced by the market.”33Comparisons necessarily suppose some
standard against which two things are compared; it is for this reason that comparisons
can tend to provide a false picture- they imply a greater similarity and equality than
actually exist. Anderson’s ‘juxtapositions’ are able to provide a clear-eyed account of
the actual workings of power in post-war Europe, demonstrating the force of Seigel’s
admonitions about comparison in transnational history. His method, in this case,
justifies itself and adds wait to more general scepticism about the value of
comparative method. Transnational historians of the European Union may find it
valuable to position their methodologies in dialogue with Anderson’s ‘juxtaposition’
both on account of general problems with comparison and because of the singular
nature of the European Union.
In identifying the European Union’s real governance as lying in ‘the special kind of
spontaneous order produced by the market’ and by his insistence throughout The New
Old World on giving accounts of traditional elites, Anderson appears to transgress the
requirement that a transnational historical approach bring in ‘a whole range of new
actors’ to his narrative.34Again, the justification of Anderson’s approach must be
31 Deborah Cohen and Maura O’Connor “Introduction: Comparative History,
Cross-National History, Transnational History- Definitions” in Comparison and
history: Europe in cross-national perspective New York: Routledge 2004 p. xvi.
32 Micol Seigel “Beyond Compare: Comparative Method after the Transnational
Turn” Radical History Review 91 Winter 2005 p. 65
33 Alain Supiot “Under Eastern Eyes” New Left Review 73 January-February 2012
p.31.
34 This stipulation is not confined to Hilton and Mitter; Bayly speaks of historians
being “constrained to write big works on wars and great statesmen” (p.15) as if
the ‘real’ history is taking place among other, neglected actors; the thrust of
10. 10
found in the results. If an account of the historical causation of European integration
is indeed the story of the centripetal forces of market economies (and Anderson’s use
of Hayek’s ‘catallaxy’ arguably provides his thesis with “validity and heuristic
power”35) then it seems arbitrary to insist on introducing ‘new actors.’ A political
intent can perhaps be discerned here; Anderson writes from the Marxist tradition and
thus privileges economic causes whilst upholding what could crudely be called a
social bifurcation between classes. It is precisely Anderson’s point that ‘new actors’
are unable to become historical protagonists whilst the kind of economics practised by
the European Union prevail. Transnational historians, by contrast, seem to speak from
a liberal perspective in which polyphonic histories attempt to give voice to a
multiplicity of nonelite actors as well as stressing social issues as distinct from
political concerns (whether this distinction is possible is itself a political question).
The New Old World stands as a reprimand to this kind of transnational approach’s
ability to correctly construe historical causation. Like comparison, the introduction of
‘new actors’ can be a valuable addition to historical understanding; but there is always
the danger that insistence on this kind of approach can occlude the real sources of
power. Thus Anderson’s approach can be seen to highlight a certain liberal naivety in
some transnational historiography which tends to write the world more democratically
than it really is.
III
What solutions have been found to the definitional questions outlined at the beginning
of this essay? To return to Gillingham’s distinction between ‘negative’ and ‘positive’
European integration (the first concerning the removal of barriers to transnational
movement of money, things and people, the second concerning the development of
institutions to promote the first), Anderson, by juxtaposing the motivations of both
European and non-European states has accounted for both concepts of integration by
Seigel’s approach is to identify the activity of ‘nonelites’. Subaltern studies, of
course, have an especial focus on giving voice to ‘new actors’.
35 Alain Supiot “Under Eastern Eyes” New Left Review 73 January-February 2012
p.31.
11. 11
appeal to the primacy of the market. In this sense, Anderson has identified the market
as the chief ‘actor’ in the historical process. The market- and economic forces more
broadly- is an object which clearly lends itself to a transnational approach. Thus far,
Anderson’s work lies unproblematically within the transnational category, at least as
broadly defined by Cohen and O’Connor. But Anderson does not cleave to the
strictures of transnational methodologies as conventionally conceived. He does not
compare; his account is concerned with social elites (although his work is situated in
antagonism to them) and the way in which economic imperatives direct diplomatic
relations. In this sense, Anderson’s work does not sit comfortably within the
transnational tradition. Because The New Old World does offer a valid historical
account of the forces of European integration, adepts of transnational history are
confronted with a work that can offer some useful correctives to their paradigm for
fruitful engagement with post-war Europe. Whether or not one accepts The New Old
World as a work of transnational history, it poses questions about the place of the
comparative method in transnational history. If, as has been argued, avoidance of the
comparative method has proved revelatory of sources of power in the European
Union, there must be greater advantages to persisting with comparison to make it
worthwhile. Similarly, a fetishisation of ‘new actors’ need not necessarily benefit
transnational historical approaches. Perhaps Cohen and O’Connor’s definition of
transnational history is more useful than most because it avoids detailed prescription.
The New Old World leaves us with two possibilities: either the European Union itself
is not a subject suitable for a transnational approach (perhaps because it is
supranational rather than transnational) or the definition of what the transnational
paradigm is needs to be adjusted in light of a successful- but unorthodox- engagement
with it.
12. 12
Bibliography
Anderson, Perry The New Old World (London: Verso 2009).
Bayly, Christopher “History and World History” in Ulinka Rublik (ed) A Concise
Companion to History (Oxford: University Press 2012).
Cohen, Deborah & O’Connor, Maura “Introduction: Comparative History, Cross-
National History, Transnational History- Definitions” in Deborah Cohen and Maura
O’Connor (eds) Comparison and history: Europe in cross-national perspective (New
York: Routledge 2004)
Hilton, Matthew and Mitter, Rana “Introduction” Past and Present
Supplement 8 2013
Saunier, Pierre- Yves “Learning by Doing: Notes about the Making of the Palgrave
Dictionary of Transnational History” Journal of Modern European History 6, 2 2008
Schmitter, Philippe “Classifying An Anomaly” New Left Review 73 January-
February 2012.
Seigel, Micol “Beyond Compare: Comparative Method after the Transnational Turn”
Radical History Review 91 Winter 2005.
Supiot, Alain “Under Eastern Eyes” New Left Review 73 January-February 2012.