What is Cultural History

by Burke, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780745644103
• ISBN10: 0745644104
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-09-02
• Publisher: Polity Pr

Summary

What is Cultural History? has established itself as an essential guide to what cultural historians do and how they do it. Now fully updated in its second edition, leading historian Peter Burke offers afresh his accessible guide to the past, present and future of cultural history, as it has been practised not only in the English-speaking world, but also in Continental Europe, Asia, South America and elsewhere. Burke begins by providing a discussion of the 'classic' phase of cultural history, associated with Jacob Burckhardt and Johan Huizinga, and of the Marxist reaction, from Frederick Antal to Edward Thompson. He then charts the rise of cultural history in more recent times, concentrating on the work of the last generation, often described as the 'New Cultural History'. He places cultural history in its own cultural context, noting links between new approaches to historical thought and writing and the rise of feminism, postcolonial studies and an everyday discourse in which the idea of culture plays an increasingly important part. The new edition also surveys the very latest developments in the field and considers the directions cultural history may be taking in the twenty-first century. The second edition of What is Cultural History? will continue to be an essential textbook for all students of history as well as those taking courses in cultural, anthropological and literary studies.

Author Biography

Peter Burke is Professor Emeritus of Cultural History at the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

The Great Tradition

Classic Cultural History

Culture and Society

The Discovery of the People

Problems of Cultural History

The Classics Revisited

Marxist Debates

The Paradoxes of Tradition

Popular Culture in Question

What is Culture?

The Moment of Historical Anthropology

The Expansion of Culture

The Moment of Historical Anthropology

Under the Microscope

Postcolonialism and Feminism

A New Paradigm?

Four Theorists

Practices

Representations

Material Culture

The History of the Body

From Representation to Construction

The Rise of Constructivism

New Constructions

Performances and Occasions

Deconstruction

Beyond the Cultural Turn?

Burckhardt's Return

Politics, Violence and Emotions

The Revenge of Social History

Frontiers and Encounters

Narrative in Cultural History

Conclusion

Afterword: Cultural History in the Twenty-First Century

A changing scene

Cultural History and its Neighbours

Culture in Question

Notes

Select Publications: A Chronological List

Further Reading

Index

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