What is Cultural History? has established itself as an essential guide
to what cultural historians do and how they do it. Now fully updated in
its third edition, leading historian Peter Burke offers afresh his
accessible account of the past, present and future of cultural history,
as it has been practised not only in the English-speaking world, but
also in Continental Europe, Asia, South America and elsewhere.
Burke begins by discussing the 'classic' phase of cultural history,
associated with Jacob Burckhardt and Johan Huizinga, and the Marxist
reaction to it, from Frederick Antal to Edward Thompson. He then charts
the rise of cultural history in more recent times, concentrating on the
work of the last generation, often described as the 'New Cultural
History'. He places cultural history in its own cultural context, noting
links between new approaches to historical thought and writing and the
rise of feminism, postcolonial studies and an everyday discourse in
which the idea of culture plays an increasingly important part. The new
edition also surveys the latest developments in the field and considers
the directions that cultural history has been taking in the twenty-first
century and may take in the future.
This landmark book will continue to be essential reading for students of
history, anthropology, cultural studies and literary studies.
