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Peter Burke follows up his magisterial Social History of Knowledge, picking up where the first volume left off around 1750 at the publication of the French Encyclopédie and following the story through to Wikipedia. Like the previous volume, it offers a social history (or a retrospective sociology of knowledge) in the sense that it focuses not on individuals but on groups, institutions, collective practices and general trends. The book is divided into 3 parts. The first argues that activities which appear to be timeless - gathering knowledge, analysing, disseminating and employing it - are in fact time-bound and take different forms in different periods and places. The second part tries to counter the tendency to write a triumphalist history of the 'growth' of knowledge by discussing losses of knowledge and the price of specialization. The third part offers geographical, sociological and chronological overviews, contrasting the experience of centres and peripheries and arguing that each of the main trends of the period - professionalization, secularization, nationalization, democratization, etc, coexisted and interacted with its opposite. As ever, Peter Burke presents a breath-taking range of scholarship in prose of exemplary clarity and accessibility. This highly anticipated second volume will be essential reading across the humanities and social sciences.

"Interest in world history has never been greater—both among historians and the reading public. Globalization has coaxed historians out of their fixation on all things national, which has characterized historical research since the nineteenth century. But with this new global field of research has come new methodological problems. It is high time that these problems were tackled, if only to develop methods to ensure that world-historical research strives for the same high quality and standards as any other field of historical study. This book addresses all these problems in detail, with a particular emphasis on solutions. The contributors discuss how the progress made in the sciences, which offer unique access to new types of source material, can best be used by the historians of global processes. These are sources that demand an awareness of both their advantages and their drawbacks. The same is true of the secondary sources, which are the basis of most world-historical overviews and syntheses. Primary and secondary sources alike require shrewd handling in a way not seen before. Similarly, the calculations and comparisons essential to world history must be harmonized, and historians have to acknowledge that the information they are working from is often of variable quality and detail. Linguistic and cultural differences must also be analysed systematically whenever historians seek the recurring traits in human history, much as they must be alert to the strong ideological interests that all too often distort scholarly results.
Solutions to these and the other methodological problems are hammered out in this book. Whether researchers, students, or interested readers, anyone keen to sharpen their critical thinking about world history will find there is much to take away from this book. - Intresset för världshistoria är större än på länge – både bland den läsande allmänheten och bland historiker. Globaliseringen har bidragit till att historikerna kommit ut ur den fixering vid det nationella som kännetecknat deras forskning ända sedan 1800-­‐talet. Men med den nya globala arenan för forskning följer också nya metodproblem. Det är hög tid att de världshistoriskt orienterade forskarna tar sig an de här problemen och utvecklar metoder, så att de kan arbeta med lika höga kvalitetskrav som annan historieforskning. I den här boken adresseras utförligt en serie sådana problem, och författarna ger förslag på hur de ska lösas. Här diskuteras hur den naturvetenskapliga forskningens framsteg kan utnyttjas för den som vill studera övergripande globala processer med vår tids unikt stora tillgång till helt nya typer av källmaterial. Det kräver en medvetenhet hos historikerna både om de här källornas förtjänster och om deras fällor. Detsamma gäller användningen sekundärlitteratur, som en stor del av de världshistoriska översikterna och synteserna baseras på. Här krävs källkritisk skärpa av ett nytt slag. Här krävs också att de ekonomiska och andra beräkningar och jämförelser som måste till inom världshistorisk forskning harmonieras och att forskarna tar höjd för att den information de bygger på ofta är av olika kvalitet och upplösning. Språkliga och kulturella skillnader måste också analyseras systematiskt när forskarna söker de återkommande dragen i den mänskliga historien. Dessutom måste världshistorikerna ständigt vara uppmärksamma på de starka ideologiska intressen som allt för ofta tenderar att förvrida de vetenskapliga resultaten.
Detta och en hel del andra metodproblem diskuteras i den här boken, där det finns mycket att hämta både för forskaren och för studenten, liksom för den historieintresserade läsare som vill skärpa sitt kritiska förhållningssätt till världshistorisk forskning."

Henri Lefebvre's intellectual biographies, especially his (1947; 2001a [1955]) works on Rene Descartes & Francois Rabelais, are studied. Overviews of Lefebvre's involvement with the Parti Communiste Francais (PCF) during the 1940s & 1950s, & the PCF's motivations for expelling Lefebvre from the organization in 1958 are presented. An analysis of Lefebvre's various intellectual biographies of various French writers revealed an overwhelming concern with the historical & intellectual contexts within which these authors produced their works; indeed, it is noted that Lefebvre contented that a proper dialectical materialist approach to French philosophy & literature necessitated heavy consideration of the intellectual contexts surrounding these writers' works. After discussing Lefebvre's contention that the rise of the bourgeois class & Rabelais's association with the peasant class strongly affected Rabelais's writings, the appearance of "the fantastic" in Rabelais's & Cervantes's respective works is compared. In addition, differences between Lefebvre's & Mikhail Bakhtin's respective readings of the contexts that affected Rabelais' works are considered. The implications of adopting Lefebvre's "fantastical approach" to studying the everyday reality of the material world are also pondered. 61 References. J. W. Parker

This is a brief overview of the history of the engagement by Finnish jurists with international law during the 20th century. The principal finding is that Finnish lawyers have often combined academic work with public service as diplomats and politicians, including government members. The ambition is modest – no more is sought than singling out relevant persons and some of their more interesting academic contributions. My wish is that the text might inspire others to enquire more in depth into the contributions of these and other jurists as well as to make such overviews of other countries or periods and in this way to contribute to an emerging "comparative international law".

Die gesammelten Aufsätze von Dietmar Rothermund, Professor emeritus der Geschichte Südasiens, Universität Heidelberg, umfassen Themen der Indischen und der Globalen Geschichte, darunter einen Vergleich der Herrschaftsstile von Akbar und Philipp II von Spanien, eine Skizze Mumbais, das sich vom Fischerdorf zur Metropole entwickelte, eine Untersuchung der Nachhaltigkeit asiatischer Gesellschaften und ihrer Umwelt.Weitere Themen sind der Hinduismus und seine Politik und Wirtschaft und eine Studie der Erinnerungskulturen post-imperialer Nationen. Es geht dabei um sechs Nationen, die ihre Kolonien nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg verloren haben; ferner ein Aufsatz über die nationalen Traditionalismen in Asien und einige andere Themen. Die 10 Beiträge sind in der Zeit von 1997 bis 2014 geschrieben worden.

"Although occupied only relatively briefly in the long span of world prehistory, Scandinavia is an extraordinary laboratory for investigating past human societies. The area was essentially unoccupied until the end of the last Ice Age when the melting of huge ice sheets left behind a fresh, barren land surface, which was eventually covered by flora and fauna. The first humans did not arrive until sometime after 13,500 BCE. The prehistoric remains of human activity in Scandinavia--much of it remarkably preserved in its bogs, lakes, and fjords--have given archaeologists a richly detailed portrait of the evolution of human society. In this book, Doug Price provides an archaeological history of Scandinavia--a land mass comprising the modern countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway-from the arrival of the first humans after the last Ice Age to the end of the Viking period, ca. AD 1050. Constructed similarly to the author's previous book, Europe before Rome, Ancient Scandinavia provides overviews of each prehistoric epoch followed by detailed, illustrative examples from the archaeological record. An engrossing and comprehensive picture emerges of change across the millennia, as human society evolves from small bands of hunter--gatherers to large farming communities to the complex warrior cultures of the Bronze and Iron Ages, which culminated in the spectacular rise of the Vikings. The material evidence of these past societies--arrowheads from reindeer hunts, megalithic tombs, rock art, beautifully wrought weaponry, Viking warships--give vivid testimony to the ancient humans who once called home this often unforgiving edge of the inhabitable world"--

The article focuses on scientific, practical and socio-political importance of the multivolume "Encyclopedia of the History of Ukraine" compiled and published by the Institute of History of Ukraine, the Academy of Science of Ukraine. The paper estimates specific character of Encyclopedia, its structure, content and logical coherence, interrelatedness of separate thematic blocks and articles covering world history issues. The materials selected for the Encyclopedia proved to be thoroughly researched and are based on specific examples. They are mainly related to the landmark political and social events in the world history which affected the fate of Ukraine and its people. Cultural overviews place a great focus on the relations between various states and Ukraine, highlight key events in international relations and their relevance to Ukraine and the "Ukrainian Question", spotlight foreign policy of Ukraine. Much attention is paid to outstanding personalities (state leaders, politicians, scientists, cultural figures) who left a rich legacy in the history of the country. ; У статті розкривається наукове, практичне й громадсько-політичне значення підготовки і видання Інститутом історії України НАН України багатотомної «Енциклопедії історії України». Дається загальна характеристика специфіки її побудови, передусім змісту та логічної підпорядкованості й взаємопов'язаності тих сюжетно-тематичних блоків та окремих статей-гасел, що стосуються проблем всесвітньої історії. На конкретних прикладах висвітлюється ступінь вивчення й основний зміст представлених в енциклопедії матеріалів про головні політичні і суспільні події та явища світової історії з акцентуванням на їхньому впливі на долю українців та України; країнознавчі нариси, з виділенням сюжетів про взаємовідносини відповідної держави та України; основні події міжнародного життя й відносин та їх дотичність до України або «українського питання»; міжнародні зв'язки українського народу та зовнішню політику України, а також про окремих визначних особистостей планети (державних діячів, політиків, вчених, діячів культури), діяльність яких причетна до України.

This impressive collection offers the first systematic global and comparative history of textile workers over the course of 350 years. This period covers the major changes in wool and cotton production, and the global picture from pre-industrial times through to the twentieth century. After an introduction, the first part of the book is divided into twenty national studies on textile production over the period 1650-2000. To make them useful tools for international comparisons, each national overview is based on a consistent framework that defines the topics and issues to be treated in each chapter. The countries described have been selected to included the major historic producers of woollen and cotton fabrics, and the diversity of global experience, and include not only European nations, but also Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Uruguay and the USA. The second part of the book consists of ten comparative papers on topics including globalization and trade, organization of production, space, identity, workplace, institutions, production relations, gender, ethnicity and the textile firm. These are based on the national overviews and additional literature, and will help apply current interdisciplinary and cultural concerns to a subject traditionally viewed largely through a social and economic history lens. Whilst offering a unique reference source for anyone interested in the history of a particular country's textile industry, the true strength of this project lies in its capacity of international comparison. By providing global comparative studies of key textile industries and workers, both geographically and thematically, this book provides a comprehensive and contemporary analysis of a major element of the world's economy. This allows historians to challenge many of the received ideas about globalization, for

Der Gebrauch von Drogen ist so alt wie die Menschheit. Jedoch erst mit dem Aufstieg der modernen Medizin wurde das Konzept der "Drogenabhängigkeit" formuliert und die Abhängigkeit als klinische und soziale Störung verstanden.Der Band zeichnet nach, wie sich dieses Verständnis im Zeitraum von 1800 bis zum Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges in zwei sehr verschiedenen Ländern entwickelte: Deutschland und den USA. Er erklärt, warum Alkohol legal ist, Heroin und Kokain jedoch nicht. Der Band erläutert die Verbindungen zwischen dem Krieg der Vereinigten Staaten gegen die Drogen und ihrem Rassismus und zeigt die sehr unterschiedlichen Rollen auf, die das medizinische "Establishment" in den beiden Ländern spielt.Für jeden, der sich für die Geschichte von Drogen und Medizin und deren Wechselwirkung mit Politik, Justiz und dem Gesetz interessiert ist dieses Buch ein Muss.

Intellectual Horizons offers a pioneering, transnational and comparative treatment of key thematic areas in the intellectual and cultural history of Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth century. For most of the twentieth century, Central and Eastern European ideas and cultures constituted an integral part of wider European trends. However, the intellectual and cultural history of this diverse region has rarely been incorporated sufficiently into nominally comprehensive histories of Europe. This volume redresses this underrepresentation and provides a more balanced perspective on the recent past of the continent through original, critical overviews of themes ranging from the social and conceptual history of intellectuals and histories of political thought and historiography, to literary, visual and religious cultures, to perceptions and representations of the region in the twentieth century. While structured thematically, individual contributions are organized chronologically. They emphasize, where relevant, generational experiences, agendas and accomplishments, while taking into account the sharp ruptures that characterize the period. The third in a four-volume set on Central and Eastern Europe in the twentieth century, it is the go-to resource for understanding the intellectual and cultural history of this dynamic region

Selling Sex in the City offers a worldwide analysis of prostitution that takes a long historical approach which covers a time period from 1600 to the 2000s. The overviews in this volume examine sex work in more than twenty notorious "sin cities" around the world, ranging from Sydney to Singapore and from Casablanca to Chicago. Situated within a comparative framework of local developments, the book takes up themes such as labour relations, coercion, agency, gender, and living and working conditions. Selling Sex in the City thus reveals how prostitution and societal reactions to the trade have been influenced by colonization, industrialization, urbanization, the rise of nation states, imperialism, and war, as well as by revolutions in politics, transport, and communication. Contributors are: Pascale Absi, Dlila Amir, Deborah Bernstein, Francesca Biancani, Thaddeus Gregory Blanchette, Amalia L. Cabezas, Susan P. Conner, Satarupa Dasgupta, Mfon Umoren Ekpootu, Raelene Frances, Pamela Fuentes, Sue Gronewold, Hanan Hammad, Shawna Herzog, Philippa Hetherington, Nicole Keusch, Liat Kozma, Julia Laite, Nomi Levenkron, Mary Linehan, Maja Mechant, Fernanda Nuñez, Marion Pluskota, Cristiana Schettini, Hila Shamir, Yvonne Svanström, Isabelle Tracol-Huynh, Michela Turno, Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, and Mark David Wyers.

The paper overviews the basic ideas of the book and focuses on the author's proposal to move towards a research university model and the implementation of constructivist economic analysis. Yefimov offers a radical rethinking of the history of economic science, negatively assesses the emergence of neoclassical mainstream, and rehabilitates the German historical school and the American (old) institutionalism. The book analyzes retrospectively within a wide political and economic context how theoretical beliefs of prominent economists came into being. It contains personal reflections and research experience, as well as relatively unfamiliar biographical data of different reputable scholars.

When I came to the University of Florida in 1981, I was informed that Charles Wagley was not accepting new graduate students. After my first class with Wagley, he agreed to be my advisor and mentor and I became the last student he accepted. Though better known for his sensitive and pioneering ethnography of indigenous and peasant populations and his influential anthropological/historical overviews of Brazil and Latin America, Wagley and his students' contributions to the study of Afro-American cultures and race relations in the Americas are considerable. Among the important concepts that Wagley articulated were 'social race', 'Plantation America', and the 'amorphous and weakly organized local community without clear boundaries in space or membership'. Wagley guided my dissertation research in Haiti. In it I developed his concept by proposing 'cultural amorphousness' as a 'total cultural style' (following Kroeber) of African Diaspora cultures in the Plantation American cultural sphere: a primary organizing principle that has proved to be an effective adaptation to plantation and its successor societies.

The trade of global bioenergy commodities, such as ethanol, biodiesel and wood pellets has been growing exponentially in the past decade, and have by 2013 reached true "commodity" volumes, i.e. tens of millions of tonnes traded each year, and billions (both in US$/€) of annual turnover. IEA Bioenergy Task 40 was founded in 2004 and is now in its 4th triennium. For the past 9 years, task 40 has monitored the developments in international bioenergy trade, including the organization of about 20 workshops on trade-related topics, and the publication of over 100 studies, country reports, newsletters, etc. The amount of material produced over the years and insights gained in how biomass markets and international trade of biomass and biofuels has developed is impressive. Besides that the group has produced overviews and insights, also a large amount of practical experience has been brought together in what works and what doesn't. Last but not least, based on all this, there are clear(er) views on how to proceed to build working sustainable international biomass markets in the future. This book compiles those lessons and insights into an easily accessible book publication