Rethinking World History: Essays on Europe, Islam and World History

Studies in Comparative World History

by Marshall G.S. Hodgson, Michael B. Adas (Contribution by), Philip D. Curtin (Contribution by)

Is the history of the modern world the history of Europe writ large? Or is it possible to situate the history of modernity as a world historical process apart from its origins in Western Europe? In Part One of this posthumous collection of essays, Marshall G.S. Hodgson, a former professor of history at the University of Chicago, challenges adherents of both Eurocentrism and multiculturalism to rethink the place of Europe in world history. He argues that the line that connects Ancient Greeks to the Renaissance to modern times is an optical illusion, and that a global and Asia-centered history can better locate the European experience in the shared histories of humanity. In Part Two of the work Hodgson shifts the focus and in a parallel move seeks to locate the history of Islamic civilization in a world historical framework. Finally, in Part Three he argues that in the end there is but one history--global history--and that all partial or privileged accounts must necessarily be resituated in a world historical context. The book also includes an introduction by the editor, Edmund Burke III, contextualizing Hodgson's work in world history and Islamic history.

Genres: History, World History, Islam, Nonfiction, Essays, Religion, Middle East

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Marshall Goodwin Simms Hodgson was an Islamic studies academic and a world historian at the University of Chicago. He was chairman of the interdisciplinary Committee on Social Thought in Chicago.

Reviews

[Hamza Sarfraz]

This is one of the most important books I've read on history. It is hard to believe that most essays in this collection were written more than half a century ago because they feel so urgent and relevant. Marshall Hodgson was a world-historian who anticipated and answered many of the discussions about Islam, modernity, world history, and the role of civilizations decades ahead of his time. To top it off, his own personal morality and precommitments are something he recognizes too. This book is worth a read.

[Lois]

I still use sections of this for my classes.

[Kawth]

kitap çok faydalı ama çevirisi pek iyi değil

[Willow]

A thought-provoking collection of essays that were ahead of their time when written and still, in many ways, ahead of our time now. Hodgson makes many points that force the reader to reconsider their views of history - I enjoyed reading the section that points out that traditional narratives of 'western history' begin in a region that gets relegated to 'the east' by the early modern era and the distortions of perspective that result. My background of historical knowledge meant that I appreciated the essays in Part I (Europe in a Global Context) the most, but Parts II (Islam in a Global Context) and III (The discipline of global history) were written in an accessible, though academic, manner. I found the concluding essay unnecessary, however - it is a discussion of another of Hodgson's works, The Venture of Islam, that would have been better suited as a preface to that book.

[Sanane]

Vadi yayınlarından olan tercümesini almayın. Kendine tercüman diyen iki şaklaban 8 kelimeden uzun cümlelerde, nesne özne bağlaç hepsini birbirine karıştırıyor, ingilizce tabirleri, deyimleri olduğu gibi türkçeye çevirmeleri de cabası. Faydalanmak için ingilizcesini okuyun, aksi takdirde ben bu paragrafı niye anlamıyorum diye kendinizi tekmelerken bulabilirsiniz.

[Kerem Demirtas]

inanilmaz derecede caginin otesinde hatta prophetic denebilecek chapterlari var fakat yazarin diline ragmen okunan bir kitap. Cok uzun cümleler sentaktik olarak karmasik yapilar fazlasiyla mevcut. Ve de "Oikoumenic Configuration" tezi/argümani sürekli tekrar ediliyor.

[mutinashi]

Yazar dünya tarihini yeniden ele alırken gözardı edilen İslam'ı ön planda tutuyor. Bunu Batı'daki gelişmelerle paralel olarak ele alıyor ve tarih okumasını tek bir coğrafya üzerinden anlatmıyor. Ufuk açıcı bir eser.

[Ata]

A Good read! Suggests a new methodology for large scale historical studies and an extremely interesting perspective towards global history.

[Mehmet]

Includes some interesting ideas and views. However, it is such a difficult read written very academically.

[Ali Gül]

Okunmuyor, sorunun kaynağı çeviri midir yazarın kendisi midir bilemiyorum lakin kitabı okuyabilmek mümkün değil. Çok uzun süre denedim ve bugün itibariyle pes ettim.

[Scott Richardson]

Really a compendium of Hodgson's essays, rather than a single work. Compiled after his death, so the end result is only very lightly tied together thematically. Full of thought-provoking ideas on the interpretation of history. Major emphasis on the Islamic world. Also full of idiosyncratic vocabulary; makes for slow-going for the non-specialist reader. But overall a worthwhile read for those interested in world history of the last 500 years and major cross-regional themes.

[Alan]

Essays by the late Marshall Hodgson, the closest thing to a true 'world historian' I've yet encountered. This book is a kind of expansion pack to the most excellent Venture of Islam. Some thoughts are well-written, many are not, all are interesting, even radical (even though decades-old), and worthy of thought and discussion.