Revolution in History [Paperback]

Fifteen historians examine the interpretative value of ideas of revolution for explaining historical development.Fifteen contributors examine the interpretative value of ideas of revolution for explaining historical development within their own speciality. They assess the existing historiography and offer their personal views.Fifteen contributors examine the interpretative value of ideas of revolution for explaining historical development within their own speciality. They assess the existing historiography and offer their personal views.All serious historical inquiry constantly encounters these major questions: what are the forces of historical change? and are there any general patterns shaping historical development? Theories of revolution have figured large in historians' explanations, yet they have remained deeply controversial, not least because of the complexity - and often ambiguity - of such notions of revolution themselves. In this book fifteen contributors, leading historians and renowned experts in particular fields or periods, examine the interpretative value of ideas of revolution for explaining historical development within their own specialism, assessing the existing historiography and offering their own personal views. The book presents a conspectus of modern historical opinion, provides a sweeping historical overview, and offers students an invaluable introduction to major questions of historiographical interpretation and controversy.Notes on contributors; Introduction; 1. Revolution E. J. Hobsbawn; 2. Revolution in antiquity M. I. Finley; 3. Social devolution and revolution: Ta Thung and Thai Phing Joseph Needham; 4. The bourgeois revolution of 18489 in Central Europe Arnost Kl?ma; 5. Socialist revolution in Central Europe, 191721 T. Hajdu; 6. Imperialism and revolution Victor Kiernan; 7. Socio-economic revolution in England and the origin of the modern world Alan MacFarlane; 8. Agrarian and industrial revolutions William N. Parker; 9. On revolutil<