“This book meets three demands of the humanities today: transcending the Western perspective into a universal one; addressing the broad variety of cultures; and reflecting this new approach conceptually. Thus it gives new answers to the old question: what is history?”
–Jörn Rüsen, Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities in Essen
“In this excellent anthology, internationally renowned experts of historical thinking and writing embed their predecessors’ ideas in their respective contexts. Furthermore, they convincingly explain the differences between pre-modern forms of historical thinking and the conceptual categories we use today.”
–Josef Wiesehöfer, The University of Kiel
When and why did ancient peoples begin to think about the past, record, and write history? Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World explores the many ways in which ancient civilizations thought about the past, recorded it, and wrote their own histories – and the role of historical thinking and writing in ancient societies.
Demonstrating how a concern about the past and thoughts of history are hallmarks of all developed civilizations, this collection discusses the ways in which such thoughts and concerns found expression in various ancient or early cultures. An international group of scholars working in many disciplines contribute chapters that address historical thinking and writing in a range of ancient cultures in East, South, and West Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Americas. They also discuss historiography shaped by religious perspectives, including Judaism, early Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.
By presenting a cross-cultural comparison of early societies’ attempts to deal with the past, Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World offers readers invaluable insights into pre-modern historical thinking and writing.
From the Back Cover
When and why did ancient peoples begin to think about the past, record, and write history? Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World explores the many ways in which ancient civilizations thought about the past, recorded it, and wrote their own histories – and the role of historical thinking and writing in ancient societies.
Demonstrating how a concern about the past and thoughts of history are hallmarks of all developed civilizations, this collection discusses the ways in which such thoughts and concerns found expression in various ancient or early cultures. An international group of scholars working in many disciplines contribute chapters that address historical thinking and writing in a range of ancient cultures in East, South, and West Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Americas. They also discuss historiography shaped by religious perspectives, including Judaism, early Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.
By presenting a cross-cultural comparison of early societies’ attempts to deal with the past, Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World offers readers invaluable insights into pre-modern historical thinking and writing.
About the Author
Kurt A. Raaflaub is David Herlihy University Professor, and Professor of Classics and History, emeritus at Brown University. His publications include The Discovery of Freedom (2004), Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece (with Josiah Ober and Robert Wallace, 2007), The Roman Empire in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (ed., with Johann P. Arnason, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern Societies (with Richard J. A. Talbert, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), and The Greek Polis and the Invention of Democracy: A Politico-Cultural Transformation and Its Interpretations (ed., with Johann P. Arnason and Peter Wager, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013).
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