A Passion for History: Conversations with Denis Crouzet

Early Modern Studies

by Natalie Zemon Davis, Michael Wolfe

The pathbreaking work of renowned historian Natalie Zemon Davis has added profoundly to our understanding of early modern society and culture. She rescues men and women from oblivion using her unique combination of rich imagination, keen intelligence, and archival sleuthing to uncover the past. Davis brings to life a dazzling cast of extraordinary people, revealing their thoughts, emotions, and choices in the world in which they lived. Thanks to Davis we can meet the impostor Arnaud du Tilh in her classic, The Return of Martin Guerre, follow three remarkable lives in Women on the Margins, and journey alongside a traveler and scholar in Trickster Travels as he moves between the Muslim and Christian worlds.

Genres: History

232 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Natalie Zemon Davis was an American-Canadian historian of the early-modern period.

Reviews

[Diego Sánchez]

qué interesante y qué agradable es leer una historiadora de la talla de natalie zemon davies. hay algunos pasajes más arduos, pero cuando habla de su forma de ver la historia, su labor, las fuentes... embelesa. supongo que no dice nada que no haya sentido antes ningún historiador (de lo social, de lo de abajo...), pero ha sido muy esclarecedor verlo escrito y decir "jo, pienso como ella" (desde mi pequeñísima esfera frente a su increíble alcance).

por otro lado, una pena que sus reflexiones sobre el conflicto de Israel y Palestina sean tan de actualidad, siendo la entrevista de 2004.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was wonderful to learn more about the life and work of Natalie Zemon Davis, one of my academic heroes. This was a very interesting interview because Denis Crouzet tends to play devil's advocate and asks her questions that her critics often ask about her approach to history. Davis is in her 90s so she has lived through many revolutions in the US. She and her husband were also victims of the Red Scare in the 1950s. Davis shows that you can be a scholar and an activist. A very interesting and enlightening read. Highly Recommend!