tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post7370056119055755051..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Big History and ReligionPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-38135048911102419542009-08-11T14:27:06.218-06:002009-08-11T14:27:06.218-06:00I love big history, but it's interesting to me...I love big history, but it's interesting to me that it's often not written by historians (Diamond is an anthropologist, for example). I think historians are trained to learn about the contingency of events, the specific times and places when things arise and why, and the distinctions within periods of history and the communities that act within them. Even if those communities are national in scope, this training doesn't lend itself to big history. <br /><br />Or perhaps it takes an outsider perspective to see the patterns. That's why two of the most interesting books written about American history in the past two decades--That Noble Dream and the Holocaust in American Life--were written by Peter Novick, an historian of Europe! Just a thought.Kevin M. Schultzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10983890538804950630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-41066701794204820702009-08-11T13:04:42.308-06:002009-08-11T13:04:42.308-06:00Ed,
Thanks for the recommendation. I will add _Ma...Ed,<br /><br />Thanks for the recommendation. I will add _Maps of Time_ to my ever expanding reading list. I wonder also about the scientific nature of big history. Some of the works mentioned in the FindLaw post definitely veer that way.Kelly J. Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14328894784072518452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-66137936143164036082009-08-11T12:12:25.499-06:002009-08-11T12:12:25.499-06:00One of my former colleagues at SDSU, David Christi...One of my former colleagues at SDSU, David Christian, is one of the most prominent authors in world and "big" history. I think anyone interested in the subject should start with his amazing _Maps of Time_. Sure, it seems like science to me and not history, but that's just because I'm trained in little history.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com