The History Manifesto

A call to arms to historians and everyone interested in history in contemporary society. This title is also available as Open Access.

Jo Guldi (Author), David Armitage (Author)

9781107076341, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 October 2014

176 pages
22.2 x 14.6 x 1.9 cm, 0.34 kg

'The book is an eminently readable and thought-provoking account of the broader repercussions of the various historical turns of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, a helpful survey of recent work utilizing new methodologies for incorporating Big Data into historical research, and a healthy warning to students and scholars of history on the importance of relating their work to the big picture and broader public.' Hugh J. Turner, Divan: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

How should historians speak truth to power – and why does it matter? Why is five hundred years better than five months or five years as a planning horizon? And why is history – especially long-term history – so essential to understanding the multiple pasts which gave rise to our conflicted present? The History Manifesto is a call to arms to historians and everyone interested in the role of history in contemporary society. Leading historians Jo Guldi and David Armitage identify a recent shift back to longer-term narratives, following many decades of increasing specialisation, which they argue is vital for the future of historical scholarship and how it is communicated. This provocative and thoughtful book makes an important intervention in the debate about the role of history and the humanities in a digital age. It will provoke discussion among policymakers, activists and entrepreneurs as well as ordinary listeners, viewers, readers, students and teachers. This title is also available as Open Access.

Introduction: the bonfire of the humanities?
1. Going forward by looking back: the rise of the longue durée
2. The short past: or, the retreat of the longue durée
3. The long and the short: climate change, governance and inequality since the 1970s
4. Big questions, big data
Conclusion: the public future of the past.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Historiography [HBAH], History [HB]