This week we read chapters four and five of The Transformation of the World—on “Mobilities” and “Living Standards” respectively—which raise some interesting questions about the state of social history in our current historiographical moment. A variety of empirical and materialist… Continue Reading →
by guest contributor Matthias Pfaller The Bedford Book of Hours, illustrated by the most capable artists of Paris of the fifteenth century, is one of the most splendid of late-medieval illuminated manuscripts, and one of the most famous pieces in… Continue Reading →
This week we tackled the introduction and first three chapters of Jürgen Osterhammel’s The Transformation of the World. Those of you who are reading along with us may also have been struck by the sheer scale of Osterhammel’s panorama, and… Continue Reading →
by guest contributor Jake Purcell Sometime in the eighth century, a nun sat at her writing desk in the scriptorium of the monastery at Chelles and cut a small strip of parchment measuring about 90 by 15/22 millimeters. In a… Continue Reading →
If you’re reading Osterhammel along with us, we’ll be discussing Part One: Approaches (the first 115 pages) next week. Here are a few interesting articles and pieces we found around the web this week. If you come across something that… Continue Reading →
by guest contributor Elizabeth Biggs The International Congress on Medieval Studies held in Kalamazoo last week was immensely diverse, given its 3,000 attendees, but a good reflection of medievalists generally. It didn’t take itself particularly seriously, the alcohol flowed generously,… Continue Reading →
First, this week, a quick announcement: over the summer, we’ll be hosting a book club/series of blog posts about “big” history, centered on Jürgen Osterhammel’s recent The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century (Princeton, 2014)…. Continue Reading →
by guest contributor Elisabeth Brander Alchemy, and its association with the quest for the always-elusive philosopher’s stone, is one of the most fascinating aspects of early modern science. It was not only a tool to effect the transmutation of metals… Continue Reading →
by John Raimo Prague’s famous Wenceslas Square fell silent on August 22nd and 23rd, 1968. Warsaw Pact troops invaded what was then Czechoslovakia the day prior in order to repress what had come to known as the Prague Spring. Under… Continue Reading →
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