Vico

Past Masters (Oxford)

by Peter Burke

Vico Oxford University Press

Genres: Biography, History, Theory, Philosophy

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1985

About the author

Peter Burke is a British historian and professor. He was educated by the Jesuits and at St John's College, Oxford, and was a doctoral candidate at St Antony's College. From 1962 to 1979, he was part of the School of European Studies at Sussex University, before moving to the University of Cambridge, where he holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Cultural History and Fellow of Emmanuel College. Burke is celebrated as a historian not only of the early modern era, but one who emphasizes the relevance of social and cultural history to modern issues. He is married to Brazilian historian Maria Lúcia Garcia Pallares-Burke.

Reviews

[Yukinosita Yukino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, contextualization without losing sight of his originality. Burke thinks Vico's knowledge wasn't particularly impressive, even by 17th-century standards; his accomplishment lies in historical imagination and comparative intuition, making his work more like great literature than anything else.