Category Archives: History

La longue purée

Posted on 2014-11-10 by

In The History Manifesto, two historians, Jo Guldi of Brown and David Armitage of Harvard, urge their peers to turn away from microhistory and go back to doing Big History in the longue durée tradition of Fernand Braudel. The book also doubles as a rant against the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic History, Environmental Economics, History, History Manifesto, Social Science | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Edward Said on Bernard Lewis

Posted on 2014-11-09 by

Just quoting my favourite unintentionally hilarious passage from Said’s Orientalism.

Posted in History, Middle East & Islam | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

“The Great War and Modern Memory”

Posted on 2014-08-01 by

An excerpt from Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory.

Posted in History, Literary Criticism | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Azar Gat’s Nations

Posted on 2014-07-25 by

I saw Razib Khan‘s review of Azar Gat’s Nations : The Long History and Deep Roots of Political Ethnicity and Nationalism. Without intending to make it that long I posted a 1000-word comment there. Then I realised I could have posted it here.

Posted in Ethnicity, History, Political Development | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

The Mystery of US Behaviour in the World

Posted on 2014-07-09 by

(Part 4 of 4) I argue that American behaviour on the world stage defies any rational explanation. I also question whether the United States has derived much economic benefit from its activist and interventionist approach in the world.

Posted in Cold War, History, International Relations, U.S. foreign policy | Tagged , , , | 49 Comments