Is Comparative History Possible
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4495442 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philippa Levine (0000-0003-4468-2624, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 331-347 |
| Publication date | 2014-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History and Theory (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-2656 • E-ISSN: 1468-2303 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/hith.10716 |
| OpenAlex | W2109062097 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 15 |
In recent years the trend toward comparative histories, frequently read in terms of transnational studies, has produced some remarkably exciting work. The prospect of the comparative is gaining broader appeal, a development we should applaud but at the same time begin to examine in a critical fashion. This essay lays out some of the problems involved in comparative work and suggests ways in which we might profitably utilize these potential snares in productive ways.Comparative history has the potential to operate as a "bridge-builder," encouraging inventive thinking that moves scholars beyond the familiar terrain of their training. In this respect, it encourages original and innovative ways of approaching historical work. But there are lessons to be learned and problems to be faced in managing a complex scholarly enterprise of this kind. Comparative work runs the risk of reproducing and consolidating older models of universalist history that assume universal standards. It further runs the risk of assuming rather than historicizing the idea of the nation as a fixed point of historical reference rather than seeing the nation itself as a site for historical scrutiny. In this paper, my goal is to lay out these problems alongside the palpable rewards of comparative work, and then to suggest how we might turn such problems to our advantage
Appeal · Comparative advantage · Comparative history · Economics · Epistemology · Neoclassical economics · Political science · Positive economics · Scrutiny · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics) · Asian Studies and History · Engineering · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Law · Philippine History and Culture · Philosophy
Broadening the Horizons of the “International” by Historicizing it
Introduction – Ireland and Finland, 1860–1930
Hemispheric Reconstructions
Imperium in Imperio”
The making of European society
Border Disputes and Identity in Anglophone British Columbia
Colonial Tug-of-War
German Lessons
Education, Labour, and Discipline
Ethnic Fundraising in America and the Irish and Lithuanian Wars of Independence, 1918–1923
China Normal
Sources and Contextualizations
Empire and the Making of Native Title
The 'Is' at Home, the 'Ought' Abroad
La microhistoire globale
| Citations per year | 1.36 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2025 (11) |
| Highly cited | No |