HISTORY ZONE: Books

Where's History going?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:04:41 GMT

Maria Grever and Siep Stuurman (eds.)

Beyond the Canon: History for the Twenty-First Century

(Palgrave, 2007)

222pp., £45 hard, ISBN 978-0-230-51650-2

Why is government throughout the Western World increasingly concerned about national identity and the transmission of historical knowledge? The answer perhaps lies in the increasingly fluid world in which we live where substantial population migration appears to be the norm and where ‘our’ history is no longer accepted with the same quietism that was the case a generation ago. Defining who were are and what our history is used to be relatively straightforward; in many respects the early attempts to produce a National Curriculum reflected, though not without disagreement, what the ‘great and the good’ saw as important in our history. That certainly no longer exists as we now try to come to terms with our past, a process that had parallels in Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, France, South Africa and Canada. Take, for example, the debate over the slave trade and whether the government should apologise for this. Is it possible to apologise to people long dead and should one apologise to their descendents? Are we applying today’s moral imperatives to the past and is that, in fact desirable? The slave trade, for all its barbarity, existed and apologising now for events two hundred years ago and more seems to me a token but then perhaps it is a necessary token.

I remember a discussion with year nine students on the slave trade where we looked at its morality. Those who did not really think about the issue quickly concluded that we should apologise because slavery was wrong, a moral judgement without doubt but perhaps not a historical one. However, those who thought more deeply about the issue began to ask the sorts of questions that politicians ought to be asking before reaching heavily-spun and simplistic conclusions. Why did some people in 1780 believe that slavery was morally right? Would we have supported the slave trade in the eighteenth century? The students split on the issue with some arguing that if they were merchants and wanted to make a good profit they probably would have traded in slaves. Would we support slavery today? No contest, of course not. As one student, not the brightest in the ground, said, it all depends on the context.

Our historical identity demands a clear historical context and narrative. The problem is that in a world of flux neither the context nor the narrative are as clear as they once were. I had thought that Butterfield buried Whig approach to history but it seems not; it has undergone a dramatic revival enhanced by the historical application of political correctness. So has history come down to relativism? Has it become yet another too of government?

These issues form an important theme in an excellent collection of fourteen papers that consider old canons and new histories. Part 1 considers the framing of historical knowledge and contains an excellent paper by Peter Lee on the issue of historical literacy. Part 2 looks at the foundations and revisions of the Western Canon considering issues such as the Enlightenment as a possible canon for modernity, citizenship and the crisis in the Humanities, rethinking the nation in historical museums and gender. The final part considers the transmission of historical knowledge in multicultural settings including a powerful chapter on slavery. This is an important book for history teachers since it places some of the issues that are raised in the classroom and by revisions to the history curriculum in a global context. If it is true that every generation rewrites the history of the previous generation, then the message for history teachers in Britain is that you are not alone in your concerns.

Did women have an Enlightenment?

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:44:54 GMT

Sarah Knott and Barbara Taylor (eds.)

Women, Gender and Enlightenment

(Palgrave, 2007)

768pp., £22.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-230-51781-3

Did women have an Enlightenment? Historians have long excluded women from the Enlightenment orbit. But images of ‘Woman’ loomed large in Enlightenment thought, and women themselves - as scientists and salonnières, bluestockings and governesses, polemicists and novelists - contributed much to enlightened intellectual culture. From Edinburgh to Naples, from Paris to Philadelphia, innovative minds of both sexes challenged conventional assumptions about female nature and entitlements, and imagined new modes of relating between the sexes. Viewpoints competed, with feminists utilising enlightened principles to argue for women’s rights while defenders of masculine privilege developed new rationales for male dominance grounded in Enlightenment science. This very important collection of interdisciplinary papers by forty leading scholars is a product of a research project on ‘Feminism and the Enlightenment 1650-1850: a Comparative history’ that ran for three years across the millennium. It combines searching historiographical essays with scholarly discussions of specific authors and covers questions of sex, gender and politics as they emerged in Enlightenment France, England, Spain, Italy, Scotland and the American Colonies. Each section had an authoritative introduction and the two concluding essays weigh up the entire volume. The cumulative effect is dazzling, in part because the repetitions and contradictions highlight the different ways in which events, ideas and personalities can be interpreted, depending on the particular focus. The scale of Women, Gender and Enlightenment, with its thirty-five essays, section introductions and biographies clearly demonstrates both the variety of the subject matter, but also the variety of approaches to this material.

History in Danger again!

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:14:34 GMT

Maria Grever and Siep Stuurman (eds.)

Beyond the Canon: History for the Twenty-First Century

(Palgrave, 2007)

222pp., £45 hard, ISBN 978-0-230-51650-2

Radicalism abroad

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:09:53 GMT

James M. Brophy

Popular Culture and the Public Sphere in the Rhineland 1800-1850

(New Studies in European History, Cambridge University Press, 2007)

365pp., £55 hard, ISBN 0-521-84769-8

The so-called ‘age of revolution’ challenged the divinely ordained absolutism of the ancien regime and introduced Europeans to new ideas of citizenship with a civil society. German society was affected like every other society in Europe and following the Napoleonic wars, although absolutism was officially restored, a political culture of partisan choice gradually undermined its foundations. The result, by the 1830s, was the widespread development of participatory politics among the growing middle classes and among workers. Although there were restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly in the German states, ordinary people formed political opinions in less orthodox and covert ways. The result was a vibrant form of political culture that including what people read, singing, the uses of public spaces and the European tradition of carnival, tumult and the liberating potential of religion. James Brophy argues, with considerable vigour, that popular culture played a fundamental role in linking ordinary Rhinelanders to the public sphere. He moves beyond conventional explanations pf opinion formation and exposes the broad cultural infrastructure that allowed popular classes to join the political nation. This is a fascinating study that has relevance not simply for historians of Germany but of other European and colonial societies.

Democracy and Nationalism

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 14:25:05 GMT

Eugenio F. Biagini

British Democracy and Irish Nationalism 1876-1906

(Cambridge University Press, 2007)

421pp., £55 hard, ISBN 978-0-521-84176-4

Home Rule was one of the most important political issues that faced late Victorian and Edwardian Britain but recent studies have tended to focus on it as a parliamentary phenomenon. This study examines its impact on liberalism and popular radicalism in Britain and Ireland. Biagini argues that there was a crisis of public conscience in the thirty years between 1876 and 1906 caused largely by the Home Rule debate that acted as a catalyst in the remaking of popular radicalism. Finding a solution to Home Rule or the emerging Ulster problem created a popular culture of human rights based on the conviction that politics should be governed, not by party or electoral advantage but by non-negotiable moral imperatives. Consideration of the common ground between British and Irish democracy provides an important comparative perspective that has resonance to the history of human rights, imperialism and Victorian political culture. This is an important study that broadens our understanding not just of how and why popular radicalism developed but also of the ways in which the Irish cause came to be identified with democracy, constitutional freedoms and humanitarianism.

Monarchy Rules?

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 14:22:24 GMT

Andrzej Olechnowicz (ed.)

The Monarchy and the British Nation 1780 to the Present

(Cambridge University Press, 2007)

327pp., £55 hard, £19.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-521-84461-1, 978-0-521-60635-6

Monarchy remains an important feature of British public life even if the monarch reigns but does not rule. While the monarchies of Europe disappeared in the aftermath of the First World War, during the inter-war period and after 1945, the British monarchy survived and basis of its legitimacy mutated from divine right to popular representation. This novel collection of essays looks at two fundamental questions about the British monarchy since 1780: what has been its function in the political and social life of the nation? Why has it retained its popularity with its subjects for much of this time? The editorial introduction examines the ways in which historians have viewed modern British monarchy and provides a succinct analysis of the critical questions that we need to explore. This is followed by a lucid discussion by Jonathan Parry of Crown, politics and representativeness in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Clarissa Campbell Orr returns to the feminization of monarchy extending her scope to cover the late eighteenth century and the Victorian and Edwardian era. This is followed by an original essay on monarchy and Ireland under the Union. The issue of republicanism is dealt with in two essays: David Craig on Bagehot’s republicanism and Anthony Taylor on the aristocratic monarchy and popular republicanism 1830-1940. Michael Bentley’s essay on power and authority in the late Victorian and Edwardian court provides a novel slant on the politics of the period. The book ends with three essays on monarchy and public values, the ways in which the monarchy is represented in film and the paradox of royal popularity and social inequality. The essays do provide some answers to the question of why the British monarchy has survived so far but, in many respects, it still has to find a place in the twentieth century world.

Revisiting rebellion

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 14:19:12 GMT

Andy Woods

The 1549 Rebellions and the Making of Early Modern England

(Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History, Cambridge University Press, 2007)

291pp., £55 hard, ISBN 978-0-521-183206-9

The 1549 rebellions, especially Kett’s is a popular subject at GCSE and Advanced Level. This book is therefore doubly welcome and teachers will find its insights and pithy argument of considerable value in their teaching. The rebellions in 1549 in East Anglia and the West Country were the largest and arguably the most important risings in Tudor England. The book sheds new light on the causes, course and long-term results of the insurrections. Using the benefits of the new social history of politics, Andy Wood considers the end of medieval popular rebellion, the Reformation and popular politics, political language, state formation, social memory and the historical representation of the rebellions. He argues that the rebellions represent an important moment of discontinuity between the late medieval and early modern periods and there is certainly a strong case given its timing in the middle of the 1540s and 1550s, perhaps the two most important decades of the century. This is an important book that deserves a wide audience.

Assessing Blair

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:08:28 GMT

Anthony Seldon (ed.)

Blair’s Britain 1997-2007

(Cambridge University Press, 2007)

690pp., £45 hard, ISBN 978-0-521-88293-4

Tony who? Well it’s a reasonable question given the Brownite whitewashing of Blair out of the political picture since he left office in June...it seems longer. So it has always been. When Lord Liverpool died in 1828, a year after holding office for fifteen years, his passing was barely commented on. However, unlike Liverpool or perhaps even Brown, historians will still be debating his actions a century hence. Blair dominated British political life for over a decade and, like Margaret Thatcher, changed the terms of political debate for better or worse. This is an apposite study that pr4esents the achievements and failures of the Blair governments. Although he will be remembered, at least in the short term, because of his massive misjudgment on Iraq there is so much more to Blair than foreign relations. In constitutional change, economic policy, social policy and the way in which government functions, Blair made a massive contribution to modern Britain. More presidential than Clinton or Bush, less in Labour than of Labour, a peacemaker in Ireland completing the process begun by John Major, three times election winner, there is no doubt that his achievements were significant. Yet in his presidential style, his often autocratic manner, his unwillingness to listen the people beyond the hallowed circle and the ubiquitous focus groups, his seeming venality and often confused desire for modernity, his failures were manifold. This excellent collection of essays, by acknowledged experts in their fields, provides an authoritative verdict in the impact of Blair on politics and society.

Brave Community: The Digger Movement

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:25:51 GMT

John Gurney

Brave Community: The Digger Movement in the English Revolution

(Manchester University Press, 2007)

236pp., £55 hard, ISBN 0-7190-6102-8

A modern study of the Digger movement has been long overdue and this book certainly fills the bill. It is a detailed and up-to-date study of the most important of the radical groups to emerge during the English Revolution. Emerging from local roots and inspired by the writings of Gerrard Winstanley, the Diggers believed in the creation of an egalitarian, property-less society and in the heightened and religious millenarian atmosphere of the late 1640s believed that this was imminent. The book explores in detail the Digger occupation of the wastelands at St George’s Hill in Surrey and the creation of Digger settlements. It examines local reaction to this radical move and the destruction of the communities in 1650 and explores the spread of Digger activity beyond Surrey. The chapters on Winstanley and his writings represent a valuable reinterpretation of one of the most original thinkers of the 1640s and 1650s. There is a valuable chapter than ponders the aftermath of the Digger experiment ands the fate of the key players. This is an important, well-researched and written study of a neglected subject and will prove invaluable to teachers and students alike.

The Byzantine Economy

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:16:34 GMT

Angeliki E. Laiou and Cécile Morrison

The Byzantine Economy

(Cambridge Medieval Textbooks, Cambridge University Press, 2007)

270pp., £17.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-521-61502-0

There appears to be a growing interest in the Byzantine Empire with several important works published recently including Judith Herrin’s excellent and eminently accessible Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire. This volume on the Byzantine economy is equally welcome and provides a concise and equally accessible general history of economic developments from the fourth century to the fall of the empire in 1453. The account is chronological though it is easy to follow key themes through the millennium. Demography, farming, manufacturing, the urban and rural economies, trade, fiscal issues and the role of the state and ideology is explored with verve. The final chapter compares Byzantine economic development with the varied economies of Western Europe and concludes that it was one of the most successful examples of a mixed economy in the pre-industrial world. This is an excellent book providing a superb summary of recent thinking on Byzantium, its empire and its economy.

Book Review: Cambridge History of Christianity

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:53:54 GMT

Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (eds.)

Cambridge History of Christianity: volume 1 Origins to Constantine

(Cambridge University Press, 2006)

740pp., £100 hard, ISBN 0-521-81239-9

Michael Angold (ed.)

Cambridge History of Christianity: volume 5 Eastern Christianity

(Cambridge University Press, 2006)

722pp., £100 hard, ISBN 0-521-81113-9

R. Po-Chia Hsia (ed.)

Cambridge History of Christianity: volume 6 Reform and Expansion 1500-1660

(Cambridge University Press, 2007)

749pp., £100 hard, ISBN 0-521-81162-0

Stewart J. Brown and Timothy Tackett (eds.)

Cambridge History of Christianity: volume 7 Enlightenment, Reawakening and Revolution 1660-1815

(Cambridge University Press, 2006)

678pp., £100 hard, ISBN 0-521-81605-X

Sheridan Gilley and Brian Stanley (eds.)

Cambridge History of Christianity: volume 8 World Christianities c. 1815-1914

(Cambridge University Press, 2006)

683pp., £100 hard, ISBN 0-521-81456-1

Hugh McLeod (ed.)

Cambridge History of Christianity: volume 9 World Christianities c. 1914-c.2000

(Cambridge University Press, 2006)

717pp., £105 hard, ISBN 0-521-81500-2

The Cambridge History of Christianity will be published in nine volumes. It offers a comprehensive chronological account of the development of Christianity in all its dimensions: theological, intellectual, social, political, regional and global from its beginnings to the present day. The series eschews the notion of Christianity as simply a western European phenomenon and considers it within its global context. Eastern and Coptic Christianity are given full consideration and African, Far Eastern, New World, South Asia and other non-European developments are examined in detail. The relationship between Christianity and other major faiths is examined throughout.

The first volume considers the emergence of Christianity in the Mediterranean world in the first three centuries. Its thirty-two chapters trace this dynamic history from the time of Jesus through to the emergence of imperial Christianity at the beginning of the fourth century. The volume begins with three chapters on the political, social and religious context followed by four on the Jesus movements. Community traditions and self-definition forms the theme of the next seven chapters including an interesting chapter on the Gnostics and this fits well with the next section on regional variations of Christianity. The shaping of Christian theology is examined in five chapters in terms of institutional structures and the development of ideas. The final section moves from the persecutions of the late third century through to imperial patronage and the defining of the Church at Nicaea in 325.

Volume 5 examines Eastern Christianity from the Millennium through to the present day covering all the Orthodox Churches (the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russia, Armenian, Ethiopian, Egyptian and Syrian Churches. The central theme is the survival of Orthodoxy against all the odds in its many forms into the modern period. Although there were differences in teachings and experience of its different manifestations, what marked out Orthodoxy was its resilience in the face of alien and hostile political regimes. The last phase of Byzantium appears to have been exceptionally important in this survival providing Orthodoxy with the intellectual, cultural and spiritual reserves to meet these challenges.

Volume 6 presents the history of Christianity from the eve of the Protestant Reformation to the height of Catholic reform. It examines the impact of the permanent schism in Latin Christendom, how the Catholic Church responded to this and the influence of the development of the Orthodox churches. It also examines the relationship between Christianity and non-Christian religions both in Europe and in the global community. It is divided into six parts: the first two deal with the Lutheran Reformation and the second Reformation associated with Zwingli and more importantly John Calvin. Part 3 considers the question of the Catholic renewal and its redefinition at Trent and beyond. This is followed by a section on resolving confessional conflicts with a consideration of the problems of religious toleration, the role of the Mediterranean Inquisitions and Western and Eastern Christianity. Part 5 contains some excellent papers on religion, society and culture extending the theological emphasis of some of the essays to include the visual arts, science and religion and women and religious change. The book ends with an examination of Christianity and other faiths including Judaism, the Andean Christianities, Islam, Hinduism and Bhuddism.

Volume 7 explores how three complex movements resulted in a cultural reorientation of Europe and North America and as a consequence the wider world. The Enlightenment transformed views of nature and the human ability to master it. Religious revivalism brought the development of more experiential forms of Christianity. Finally, revolution and the political and social upheavals at the end of the eighteenth century called into question ideas of monarchy by divine right and divinely ordained social structures and promoted more democratic forms of government and notions of human rights and religious toleration. In addition, colonisation and missionaries spread Christianity widely round the globe and responded in different ways to its encounters with other cultures and religious traditions.

Volume 8 takes the story from 1815 through to the outbreak of war in 1914 and is the first treatment of nineteenth-century Christianity as a global phenomenon. The opening chapters consider the ways in which Catholicism and Protestantism responded to the intellectual and social challenges posed by European modernity giving particular attention to the explosion of new voluntary forms of Christianity and the expanding role of women in religious life. This is followed by a section on the complex relationships between the churches and nationalism resulting in fundamental changes it the relationships between church and state. The final section looks at Christianity as a global force as it expanded from its traditional base in Asia and Africa to establish itself in Australasia and how it responded to the challenges and opportunities posed by European imperialism.

Volume 9 examines the twentieth century that saw changes as dramatic as in any period of Christian history. It considers Catholicism, Protestantism and the Independent Churches in all parts of the world as Christianity, really for the first time, becomes a global religion. The first section examines the institutions and movements that can truly be said to have had a global impact especially the Papacy, Pentecostalism and the Ecumenical movement. The second section looks at Christian history in each region of the world and there is an exceptionally valuable study of African Christianity. The final section considers certain themes in their global perspective including changes in worship, relations with Jews and Muslims and the arts, gender and sexuality. This is a volume of incomparable value for those who want to make sense of Christianity in a century when its position was placed under considerable threat in some parts of the globe.

Each of these volumes is edited with considerable skill to ensure that, although there may be differences of emphasis among the different contributors, there is clear coherence. The bibliographies attached to each volume are exhaustive and provide an excellent guide for those who want to take matters further. There is little doubt that this series will become the critical reference point for students and teachers.