Mikulas Teich - Böcker

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.

The main literary and artistic currents of Romanticism are well known. This volume aims uniquely to set them in their wider contexts. Thirteen distinguished contributors examine the particular configurations of the Romantic movement within individual national contexts. Parallels, influences and differences are explored between the course of Romanticism in England, France, Germany and ten other European nations, and special emphasis is placed upon the interplay between Romantic culture and social, political and economic change. Narrow definitions of Romanticism are avoided: the contributors emphasize the Romantic strands within science, philosophy and political thinking as well as within art and literature. The book also forms part of a sequence of collections of essays which started with The Enlightenment in National Context (1981). In preparation are Fin-de-Siècle and its Legacy and the Renaissance in National Context. The purpose of these and other envisaged collections is to bring together comparative, national and inter-disciplinary approaches to the history of great movements in the development of human thought and action.

For many years the term fin de siècle has been used to imply a state of decadence which was thought to have pervaded 'civilised' European society in the years around 1900. This volume of essays, which draw on a very wide range of disciplines, argues that the period was in fact one of dramatic change, essentially positive and forward-looking in character. This was the period of the rise of the giant corporation, of mass production and mass consumption, and of the development of the generation and distribution of electrical energy. Novel social features such as mass politics, mass media, and mass sport involved the body of ordinary people and in the arts, complex reactions to contemporary social reality were aroused and expressed. This was also the period which gave birth to the study of quantum mechanics, relativity physics, mental processes and genetics. This volume forms part of a sequence of collections of essays which began with The Enlightenment in National Context (1981) and has continued with Romanticism in National Context (1988). They bring together comparative, national and interdisciplinary approaches to the history of great movements in the development of human thought and actions.

The historical impact of national movements in Europe has been dramatic and continues to be an issue of major importance. Leading historians discuss authoritatively European nationalism in its historical context. Nationalism is not of course a specifically European phenomenon, but for reasons of space and intelligibility coverage has been limited geographically. The aim is that the essays should attract readers interested in a historical problem which has been difficult to encompass theoretically and to deal with practically. A glance at what is being shown or written in the media with regard to national and ethnical issues demonstrates the validity of this aim, not only with regard to the multinational former Soviet Union or Yugoslavia in eastern Europe, but also (for example) to the 'four nations' of the British Isles or bi-national Belgium in the west.

The Renaissance in National Context aims to dispel the commonly held view that the great efflorescence of art, learning and culture in the period from around 1350 to 1550 was solely or even primarily an Italian phenomenon. A team of distinguished scholars addresses the development of art, literacy and humanism across the length and breadth of Europe - from Rome to the Netherlands, from Poland to France. The book demonstrates that the revival of letters, and the generation of new currents in artistic expression had many sources independent of Italy, meeting numerous local needs, and serving various local functions, specific to the political, economic, social and religious climates of particular regions and principalities. In particular the authors emphasise that while the Renaissance was in a fashion backward looking, recovering the culture of Greece and Rome, it nevertheless served as the springboard for many specifically modern developments, including the diplomacy of the 'new princes', the spread of education and printing, the growth of nationalist feeling, and the birth of the 'new science'. Bridges of cultural transmission are given equal emphasis with the barriers which were to generate increased separation of linguistic and cultural domains. Three essays on major Italian centres do moreover demonstrate that the diversity of the Renaissance applies to the peninsula no less than to the rest of Europe.

The 'scientific revolution' of the sixteenth and seventeenth century continues to command attention in historical debate. Controversy still rages about the extent to which it was essentially a 'revolution of the mind', or how far it must also be explained by wider considerations. In this volume, leading scholars of early modern science argue the importance of specifically national contexts for understanding the transformation in natural philosophy between Copernicus and Newton. Distinct political, religious, cultural and linguistic formations shaped scientific interests and concerns differently in each European state and explain different levels of scientific intensity. Questions of institutional development and of the transmission of scientific ideas are also addressed. The emphasis upon national determinants makes this volume an interesting contribution to the study of the Scientific Revolution.

The 'scientific revolution' of the sixteenth and seventeenth century continues to command attention in historical debate. Controversy still rages about the extent to which it was essentially a 'revolution of the mind', or how far it must also be explained by wider considerations. In this volume, leading scholars of early modern science argue the importance of specifically national contexts for understanding the transformation in natural philosophy between Copernicus and Newton. Distinct political, religious, cultural and linguistic formations shaped scientific interests and concerns differently in each European state and explain different levels of scientific intensity. Questions of institutional development and of the transmission of scientific ideas are also addressed. The emphasis upon national determinants makes this volume an interesting contribution to the study of the Scientific Revolution.

The Industrial Revolution has been, and continues to be, the focus of massive historiographical as well as historical inquiry. This collection includes reappraisals by Phyllis Deane and by François Crouzet of their classic accounts of industrialisation in Britain and in France, and more generally broaches the wider issue of 'new approaches' which have been emerging for the understanding of the industrialising process in nations where it came somewhat later. In addition to grappling with questions of technical skills, economic analysis and the process of industrialisation, the authors also tackle questions of national politics and international relations. In addition to the roster of authors who examine individual national experiences, a general essay by Sidney Pollard takes into account the relative contributions of the distinct national experiences in western and eastern Europe, the USA and Japan, and assesses them as special cases of a more general phenomenon.

This collection of essays by prominent historians of the Reformation explores the experience of religious reform in 'national context', discussing similarities and differences between the reform movements in a dozen different countries of sixteenth-century Europe. Each author provides an interpretative essay emphasising local peculiarities and national variants on the broader theme of the Reformation as a European phenomenon. The individual essays thus emphasise the local preconditions and limitations which encountered the Reformation as it spread from Germany into most of the countries of western and central Europe. Together they present a picture of the many-sided nature of the Reformation as it grew up in each 'national context', both in countries where the Reformation was strikingly successful and where it failed to make an impact.

The Industrial Revolution has been, and continues to be, the focus of massive historiographical as well as historical inquiry. This collection includes reappraisals by Phyllis Deane and by François Crouzet of their classic accounts of industrialisation in Britain and in France, and more generally broaches the wider issue of 'new approaches' which have been emerging for the understanding of the industrialising process in nations where it came somewhat later. In addition to grappling with questions of technical skills, economic analysis and the process of industrialisation, the authors also tackle questions of national politics and international relations. In addition to the roster of authors who examine individual national experiences, a general essay by Sidney Pollard takes into account the relative contributions of the distinct national experiences in western and eastern Europe, the USA and Japan, and assesses them as special cases of a more general phenomenon.

This collection of essays by prominent historians of the Reformation explores the experience of religious reform in 'national context', discussing similarities and differences between the reform movements in a dozen different countries of sixteenth-century Europe. Each author provides an interpretative essay emphasising local peculiarities and national variants on the broader theme of the Reformation as a European phenomenon. The individual essays thus emphasise the local preconditions and limitations which encountered the Reformation as it spread from Germany into most of the countries of western and central Europe. Together they present a picture of the many-sided nature of the Reformation as it grew up in each 'national context', both in countries where the Reformation was strikingly successful and where it failed to make an impact.

This original collection offers an account of key moments and themes in the history of the Czech lands from the time of the rise of the Premyslide dynasty in the ninth century to the fall of socialism in 1989. The pieces, commissioned especially for this volume, are written by prominent scholars almost all teaching and researching in the present-day Czech Republic. Apart from eleven historical essays along socio-political times there are four contributions which focus broadly on the arts, sciences and education, emphasising political, economic and other aspects. Two further essays consider the worlds of the university and of science in the period 1800-1914, and 1800-1930 respectively. The co-existence and encounters between Czechs and Germans embedded in Czech history are emphasised throughout the book, while the conflicts between the two nationalities in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are examined in a separate chapter. Lastly, pursuing the 'ethnic' theme, there are essays on both the little-explored question of Czech-Jewish relations and on the sensitive Czech-Slovak question.

In general terms, one way of describing the world we live in is to say that it is made up of nature and society, and that human beings belong to both. This was the first volume to be published which addresses the historical contexts of the relations between these two characteristics of human nature. A distinguished international team aims to contribute - through selective, interdisciplinary studies - to a much-needed but currently scant debate over the reciprocal links between conceptions of nature and conceptions of society from the ancient Greek kosmos to late twentieth-century 'ecology'. Individual essays and the general conclusions of the volume are important not only for our understanding of the evolution of knowledge of nature and of society, but also for an awareness of the types of truth and perception produced in the process.

In general terms, one way of describing the world we live in is to say that it is made up of nature and society, and that human beings belong to both. This was the first volume to be published which addresses the historical contexts of the relations between these two characteristics of human nature. A distinguished international team aims to contribute - through selective, interdisciplinary studies - to a much-needed but currently scant debate over the reciprocal links between conceptions of nature and conceptions of society from the ancient Greek kosmos to late twentieth-century 'ecology'. Individual essays and the general conclusions of the volume are important not only for our understanding of the evolution of knowledge of nature and of society, but also for an awareness of the types of truth and perception produced in the process.

This collection of essays explores the complex and contested histories of drugs and narcotics in societies from ancient Greece to the present day. The Greek term pharmakon means both medicament and poison. The book shows how this verbal ambivalence encapsulates the ambiguity of man's use of chemically-active substances over the centuries to diminish pain, fight disease, and correct behaviour. It shows that the major substances so used, from herbs of the field to laboratory-produced synthetic medicines, have a healing potential, and have been widely employed both within and outside the medical profession. The boundary lines between use and abuse in society have been powerfully contested, while 'alternative' medicine has often sought to develop milder, purer, or more natural drugs. Clearly, these issues remain unresolved today: some highly addictive and dangerous substances such as cigarettes remain freely available, others are available only on prescription, while others are illegal and the objects of international contraband trade and the targets of 'drugs wars'.