British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Writing the History of the Global
British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1
21-22 May 2009
Problems in Global History
David Washbrook
As, perhaps, is the case with all ‘new’ or revisionist movements in historiography, Global History has spent most of its time distinguishing itself from its antecedents and clarifying to itself what it is not. However, this leaves open the question of what, more positively, it is and what distinctive perspective on the past it offers. Thus far, we have been treated to a number of different answers which have greatly enriched the field. Yet several problems remain and may deserve further exploration. First, given the significant role of global forces emanating from Europe, especially over the last five hundred years, is it possible to write a Global History which is not ultimately Euro-centric, and how might this be achieved ? Second, in displacing ‘conventional’ world historiography’s stock-in-trade of conquest, expropriation and domination with concepts of connection, communication and comparison, is Global History not stripping the past of relations of coercion and exploitation, and evading issues of moral responsibility and culpability ? How to write a Global History, at least of ‘recent’ times, which is not simply a legitimation of the expansion of global capitalism ? And third, while the substance of Global History thus far has been economic or material relations, is it possible to extend the approach also to cultural/intellectual relations and, if so, how ? The purpose of this paper is to elicit discussion of some key problems still facing a ‘truly’ Global History.