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3 - The evolution of world histories

from Part I - Historiography, method, and themes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

By
Dominic Sachsenmaier
Edited by
David Christian
David Christian
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney
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Summary

Given the state of the art of scholarship dealing with the evolution of world history, this chapter provides a balanced perspective between elite and other interpretations of the global past. Christian universal histories were repeatedly written in a spirit that sought to divide divine truth from heretical viewpoints. Starting from the late fifteenth century, the European conquests began having massive impacts on entire world regions, particularly the Americas and the coastal regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. The growing knowledge about different world regions fed into the epistemological crises of European historiography. During the early modern period, many societies experienced their own "culture wars" or "history wars", for example between religious and proto-secular narratives. The Eurocentric orientation of historiographical cultures in general and world history in particular continued during much of the twentieth century. Despite its limited impacts, university-based historical scholarship has a strong influence on general education systems as well as, to a certain extent, on the media.
Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge World History , pp. 56 - 83
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2015

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