This week, ending in December 25 2014:
Today's thread is for open discussion of:
History in the academy
Historiographical disputes, debates and rivalries
Implications of historical theory both abstractly and in application
Philosophy of history
And so on
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion only of matters like those above, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
Happy Christmas, lads. It's wonderful to be on break, so I guess it's time to get some writing done.
Also, they've got me teaching Western Civ part I next semester, so I've got a lot to learn about the ancient world. Any book recommendations? I'm happy to check out anything that you guys think is interesting since I'm starting from a pretty low base.
What's the general consensus on Tolstoy's view of history in War and Peace? Is it a shallow view of a broad field or have his criticisms of great man theory and strange utilization of metaphysical Will made an impact on historical studies?