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The Historical Logic of Logics of History
Language and Labor in William H. Sewell Jr.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 January 2016
Abstract
How does the logic of language combine with the logic of labor to explain historical change? This article suggests that William H. Sewell Jr.'s work can be divided into three periods, each characterized by a different answer to this question. In the work of the early cultural turn, labor and language codetermine historical change; in that of the high cultural turn, the logic of language becomes dominant; and in that of the postcultural turn, labor returns to a more central position. The article argues that these shifts result from tensions in Sewell's account of historical change and suggests a comparison with Jürgen Habermas's account of work and interaction.
- Type
- Special Section: Logics of History
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Social Science History Association 2008
References
Habermas, Jürgen (1971) “Technology and science as ‘ideology,’” in Toward a Rational Society: Student Protest, Science, and Politics, trans. Shapiro, Jeremy. London: Heinemann: 81–122.Google Scholar
Sewell, William H. Jr. (1974) “Social change and the rise of working-class politics in nineteenth-century Marseille.” Past and Present no. 65: 75–109.Google Scholar
Sewell, William H. Jr. (1980) Work and Revolution in France: The Language of Labor from the Old Regime to 1848. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sewell, William H. Jr. (2005) Logics of History: Social Theory and Social Transformation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar