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History Notes Disciplines of History: Comparative History & Historical Argument Notes

Comparative History Notes

Updated Comparative History Notes

Disciplines of History: Comparative History & Historical Argument Notes

Disciplines of History: Comparative History & Historical Argument

Approximately 360 pages

These notes contain all the work that I did on the Oxford University module: Disciplines of History.

The module was intended to teach students about drawing historical comparisons and making historical arguments.

There are extremely detailed notes on the following topics:
Comparative History
Urban History
Visual Culture and Historiography
Documentary Photography
Sources for the Self and Autobiography
Comparative Religion and Religious Historiography

In addition, there is a 51 page ...

The following is a more accessible plain text extract of the PDF sample above, taken from our Disciplines of History: Comparative History & Historical Argument Notes. Due to the challenges of extracting text from PDFs, it will have odd formatting:

Why Compare? Morillo - Need for centralised government before gunpowder can make a difference in governing ~ Comparison of Japan and Britain Compare different themes systematically - do not split into 2 national sections Florence, Tuscany v. Sicily - disparate split of regions ~ After the Black Death and famine ~ Looked at immigration - better in Tuscany ~ Yet population growth was better in Sicily ~ Issue of assuming that the societies were the same ~ Sicily - civil war ~ Tuscany - expansive war ~ Sicily had coastal specialisation ~ Geographically and temporally similar but not actually the same Comparison of English, French and Mexican revolutions ~ French revolution can be seen as a normative case Comparisons have a specific element or hypothesis - start with a theory Much of the time, comparison is used to defeat exceptionalism - shows similarities with other places Ideas of universal theories - search for general rules ~ Depends on type of comparison Take out intentions and narrative looks more systematic ~ Less like normal history Parallel causal structures - actors in these do matter 2 different types of historical explanation ~ Systematic and structural ~ Historical action, intention and influences Data can obscure just as much as it reveals Histoire croisee emphasises interdependence - particularly useful here French revolution and the Holocaust ~ Have served as a foundational past for each period ~ Subconscious and conscious comparison to 1789 ~ Could say the same for the English revolution of 1688 Natalie Zemon-Davis worked on the rites of violence in the French wars of religion ~ In the light of the Holocaust Some things are seen as more foundational than others ~ Reference point ~ Writings ostensibly on other topics can be linked to this French revolution gives a positive developmental view for liberal historians in Europe ~ Revisionists are returning to the terror e.g. works on the forms of popular violence Cannot take an objective view - historian is always influenced by contemporary events ~ 'Perfect form of comparative history' may not be possible ~ Can we look at cases in isolation? Lack of objectivism can bring benefits new perspectives History has not been formed in isolation - cannot look at it in isolation Comparative history was very popular in the 1970s ~ Were absolutely uncritical of the central nation state ~ Nowadays we are in favour of globalisation Comparison can be a good starting point for entanglement In the case of differences, it is greatly useful to use comparative approaches Can maybe have a comparative method direct comparative history ~ e.g. Bloch's enclosure in France - takes elements from England rather than having a direct comparison Histoire croisee challenges us to develop out comparative method Use comparison to isolate factors - look at unique and specific factors in one country and then see if they are present in other countries Starting with a model can be a problem - history may not fit it ~ Similar economies and polities in borderlands across different geographical locations - successful use of a model ~ Also useful as borderlands are intersections ~ Shows the problems of the nation states French revolution and US revolution ~ Do not take place in states ~ Trying to compare units which are in formation Can risk having no units of comparison left there is a need for comparison Synchronic v. diachronic ~ Can we compare through time? ~ Comparison implies synchronic analysis At the moment we assume everything is global and interconnected Popper - ideas are thought of ~ Talks about conjecture and scientific method ~ Look for evidence and contradictions to an idea ~ Do not create a theory from the evidence Revolutions - single or multiple explanations? ~ Same component parts or different? ~ Nothing to compare ~ Example of structural comparison Can use different case studies to illuminate causation in one particular case ~ Allows one to attach weight to one cause over another ! Comparative+History+ Dr#Goldman# ! ! Social#scientists#also#use#the#comparative#method# Many#terms#are#predicated#on#comparison# # ~#Stability# # ~#Rising#living#standards# # ~#Progressive#politics# # ~#Strong#government# # # ~#All#judgements#imply#an#obverse# Whig#historical#tradition# ! # ~#Influential#since#the#mid#19th#century# # ~#One#of#the#most#pervasive#theories#in#eh#historical#development# # ~#Macaulay's#10th#chapter#G#tried#to#explain#the#prevailing#sense#of#British## exceptionalism# # # ~#Parliamentary#government# # # ~#Individual#liberty# # # ~#Religious#toleration# # # ~#Inclusion#of#the#bourgeoisie# # ~#Was#not#as#simple#as#that#yet#the#Whigs#have#both#implicit#and#explicit## comparison#e.g.#France#G#revolution#and#instability# # # ~#Macaulay#wrote#his#chapter#after#the#1848#revs#in#Paris#and#other#parts#of# # # Europe# ! American#exceptionalism#G#comparison#to#Europe# ! German#exceptionalism# ! Origins+of+Comparative+History+ ! 19th#century#historians#often#spoke#of#the#comparative#method# ! Enlightenment#G#viewed#mankind#and#history#as#unitary# # ~#Societies#are#on#a#common#G#just#at#different#levels#of#progress# # # ~#Comparison#was#used#to#show#this# ! Comparative#method#in#anatomy,#jurisprudence,#geography#etc.# ! Comparison#was#the#key#method#of#18th#century#science# ! Mid#and#late#18th#century#G#comparison#of#different#stages#of#human#development# ! Opposite#use#of#comparative#method#G#search#for#factors#which#made#certain#societies# unique# # ~#19th#century#Romanticism# # ~#Specific#national#traits#and#characteristics# Enlightenment#G#focused#on#global#analysis#and#similarity# ! ! Romanticism#G#uniqueness# ! Comparison#can#show#essential#unity#and#essential#dissimilarity#of#science# # ~#Both#approaches#are#open#G#are#not#mutually#incompatible# # ~#Can#show#essential#'commonality'#yet#also#show#that#any#historical#event#is## unique# ! ! ! ! 1860G1914# # ~#Spencer,#Tyler,#Frazer,#Hobhouse#G#were#all#in#some#ways#social#evolutionists# # ~#Primitive#societies#were#at#a#different#stage#of#development# # ~##Study#of#objects#and#evidence# # ~#Evidence#of#our#past#could#be#seen#in#contemporary#primitive#societies#G## intrinsically#comparative# ! Evidence#threw#doubt#on#unitary#humanity# ! WWI#G#stopped#ideas#of#progress# ! Parsons#G#still#had#these#ideas#and#is#useful# ! ! Can#argue#that#as#a#culture#becomes#more#specialised#it#cannot#be#compared#with# others# # ~#History#of#anthropology#shows#continuing#tension#between#histories#of#similarity# # v.#difference# Politics#can#use#the#comparative#method#with#less#difficulty# ! # ~#Ancient#as#Aristotle's#attempt#to#construct#different#typologies#of#state#and## institution#G#comparison#of#countries# ! 19th#century#G#greater#evidence#led#to#a#broader#framework#of#political#analysis# ! European#Union#has#encouraged#comparative#studies#of#other#countries# ! Idea#of#political#development#leading#to#representative#institutions#and#democracy#may# not#necessarily#be#accepted# ! Tocqueville+ ! Physically#embodied#comparison#G#in#France,#England#and#America# ! 'Democracy#in#America'#(1835#and#1840)#G#saw#image#of#democracy# ! Later#study#of#the#French#Revolution# ! These#2#works#are#part#of#a#single#grand#design#in#explaining#why#aristocracy#collapsed# and#there#was#a#democratic#future# ! 'The#nations#of#our#time#cannot#precent#the#conditions#of#men#from#becoming#equal'# ! Universalising#work#through#looking#at#America#and#applying#it#elsewhere# ! Types#of#societies#are#compared# ! ! ! # # ! Longitudinal#comparison#G#single#society#or#features#within#it#at#different#times#G>#more# common# Latitudinal#comparisons#G#across#countries# ~#Less#common#and#more#difficult#to#make# ~#Can#be#extremely#helpful# German+Exceptionalism+ ! 1960s#and#70s#G#German#peculiarities#were#explained#in#relationship#to#British#liberal# society# # ~#Idea#that#Germany#should#have#taken#this#route# # ~#Failure#to#establish#British#civil#society# # ~#Lack#of#free#institutions#and#inclusivity#of#society#on#a#British#type#with#a#lack#of# # civil#intervention# ! Germany#remained#enthralled#to#preGindustrial#elites#to#the#detriment#of#longGterm# stability# ! ! # # # # # # # ! # # ! # ! This#view#was#challenged#by#Eley#and#Blackbourn# ~#Questioned#whether#the#failure#of#a#'bourgeois#revolution'#in#Germany#actually# occurred#anywhere#else# # ~#Would#they#have#actually#espoused#liberalism?# ~#Better#explanation#of#the#rational#calculation#of#economic#benefits#G>#different# course#of#action# ~#Accepted#that#the#development#of#the#bourgeoisie#was#isolated#from#the#workers# # ~#Contrasts#with#greater#interaction#in#Victorian#Britain# Gladstone#G#model#of#liberalism# ~#Not#as#secure#as#imagined#G#less#civil#and#more#exceptional# ~#Germany#was#therefore#not#as#unusual# Comparative#method#is#used#as#a#test#for#the#path#of#German#history# ~#Germany#was#different#v.#essentially#quite#similar#to#neighbours# Economic+Comparison+ ! Economic#development#can#also#be#compared# # ~#Idea#of#relative#backwardness# # ~#Can#compare#industrial#revolutions#G#Britain#was#taken#as#a#model#of## development# ! Since#the#1960s,#the#central#position#of#Britain#in#comparison#has#been#undermined#G# studies#have#shown#there#were#different#types#of#economic#development# ! Historical#comparison#G>#understanding#of#common#development#and#differences#of# Britain# # ~#Question#of#the#British#model#of#industrialisation#itself# # ~#Is#there#a#distinctive#model?# ! ! # # # # ! # # # ! ! ! # ! # # # # # ! # Comparison#can#show#important#points#of#similarity# ~#Common#features#of#later#industrialisation#of#Germany,#Japan#and#Russia# # ~#Can#borrow#technologies#from#others#already#developed# # ~#War#contributes#to#development# # ~#Emergence#in#each#society#of#nonGdemocratic#forces#of#government# Across#3#societies#comparison#also#reveals#differences# ~#Germany#G#free#ownership# ~#Japan#G#corporate#ownership# ~#Russia#G#communism# Can#agree#on#common#features#and#different#features# Convergence#G#unlike#divergence,#shows#similarities# ~#Differences,#when#found,#are#more#significant# British#and#America# ~#British#emigrated#to#the#US# ~#Americans#read#British#books# ~#Groups#in#both#nations#made#common#cause#against#slavery#and#drink# ~#Class#conflict#in#Britain#G#yet#the#Americans#would#later#have#this# ~#Similar#institutions# Contemporaries#constantly#made#comparisons# ~#Divergences#are#more#notable#and#significant# ! ! ! No#strong#and#distinct#socialist#tradition#in#the#US# US#is#divided#more#by#ethnicity#and#class# Secularisation#in#Britain#in#the#19th#century#G#why#were#they#so#different#from#America?# # ~#America#seems#to#against#the#fundamental#association#of#modernity#and## secularisation# ! ! # # # # ! ! ! ! # # # ! # ! ! ! Comparison#can#also#be#used#in#intellectual#history# ~#Hold#a#set#of#ideas#constant# ~#Examine#them#in#different#social#and#historical#contexts# ~#e.g.#Darwinism,#relativity,#Freudian#psychology,#scientific#revolution#of#the#17th# century# Studies#have#worked#against#the#notion#that#science#is#immune#from#cultural#inflections# Britain#in#the#18th#century#G#nobody#seemed#aware#that#there#was#an#Enlightenment# Uniting#of#longitudinal#and#latitudinal#comparative#history# ~#History#of#slavery# ~#Athens,#Greece#4th#century#B.#C.#G>#Athens#in#19th#century#Georgia# ~#Try#to#look#for#similarities# Other#forms#of#latitudinal#studies#have#narrowed#their#focus# ~#Wide#variety#of#factors# Maryland#and#Virginia#v.#Mississippi#and#Texas#(New)# Longitudinal#G#single#place#over#2#centuries#e.g.#South#Carolina# Weber+ ! Weber#was#an#archetypal#comparativist# # ~#Great#knowledge#of#many#different#societies# # ~#Compared#religion,#bureaucracy,#agriculture#etc.# # ~#History#though#ideal#types# # # ~#Patrimonialism#(Feudalism)# # # ~#Modern#bureaucracy# # # ~#Ancient#bureaucracy# ! Across#geography#and#time# ! Models#could#be#compared# # ~#Blueprints#could#be#compared#to#subtypes# ! Weber#described#an#ideal#type#as#a#limiting#concept#for#comparison#with#reality# ! Ideal#type#used#as#a#kind#of#fixed#point# ! Weber#was#not#aiming#to#construct#universal#theories# # ~#Wanted#to#use#comparative#analysis#to#explain#various#trends# ! Explained#origins#of#capitalism#in#Protestantism# # ~#'Protestantism#and#the#Spirit#of#Capitalism'# ! Conclusion+ ! Comparative#method#pursues#2#goals# # ~#Seeks#to#isolate#particular#factors#of#an#individual#case# # ~#Finds#general#traits#to#explain#events#G#shows#us#general#developments#and## trends# ! Comparative#history#has#4#functions#

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