Martin L. Davies

From an author at the forefront of research in this area comes this provocative and seminal work that presents a unique and fresh new look at history and theory. Taking a broadly European view, the book draws on works of French and German philosophy, some of which are unknown to the English-speaking world, and Martin L. Davies spells out what it is like to live in a historicized world, where any event is presented as historical as, or even before, it happens. Challenging basic assumptions made by historians, Davies focuses on historical ideas and thought about the past instead of examining history as a discipline. The value of history in and for contemporary culture is explained not only in terms of cultural and institutional practices but in forms of writing and representation of historical issues too. Historics stimulates thinking about the behaviours and practice that constitute history, and introduces complex ideas in a clear and approachable style. This important text is recommended not only for a wide student audience, but for the more discerning general reader as well.

Why History Dominates Contemporary Society

Historics

Claus-Christian W. Szejnmann

How the Holocaust looks now offers a series of essays that explores the historical culture the holocaust has engendered in Europe, Israel, and the USA; the politics of its reception and representation since the 1950s; the motivations for and effectiveness of commemorating it, and the creative and didactic practices it has generated in contemporary literature, art, and thought. This volume brings together contributions from leading scholars and commentators of different nationalities, generations and personal investment in the issues the Holocaust raises. As a result, it represents current thinking about the Holocaust that is particularly topical now that it is beginning to move out of the living memory of those who were immediately affected by it. In all, this book provides a thought-provoking intellectual experience and a comprehensive study of the legacy of the Holocaust, with topics ranging from the moving reflections of a survivor to the effectiveness of Holocaust memorials; from the persistence of anti-Semitism to the political exploitation of the Holocaust in Israeli politics; and from the embarrasssments of bystanders' memories to Jewish artists' satirical caricatures of the persecutors.

International Perspectives

How the Holocaust Looks Now

Martin Davies draws parallels between Herz's personal life and Prussian politics and culture to make sense of the end of the eighteenth century when Enlightenment tradition and Romantic thought coincided.

Marcus Herz and the End of the Enlightenment

Identity Or History?

Thinking about the Enlightenment looks beyond the current parameters of studying the Enlightenment, to the issues that can be understood by reflecting on the period in a broader context. Each of the thirteen original chapters, by an international and interdisciplinary team of contributors, illustrates the problematic legacy of the Enlightenment and the continued ramifications of its thinking since the eighteenth century. Together, they consider whether modernity can see its roots in the intellectual revolution of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The collection is divided into six sections, preceded by a comprehensive introduction to the field and the most recent scholarship on the period. Across the sections, the contributors consider modern day encounters with Enlightenment thinking, including Kant’s moral philosophy, the conflict between reason and faith, the significance of the Enlightenment of law and the gender inequality that persisted throughout the eighteenth century. By examining specific encounters with the problematic results of Enlightenment concerns, the contributors are able to illuminate and offer new perspectives on topics such as human nature, race, politics, gender and rationality. Drawing from history, philosophy, literature and anthropology, this book enables students and academics alike to take a fresh look at the Enlightenment and its legacy in the modern world.

Modernity and its Ramifications

Thinking about the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment is generally painted as a movement of ideas and society lasting from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century, but this book argues that the Enlightenment is an essential component of modernity itself. In the course of the study, Martin Davies offers an original world-view and a critique of some recent interpretations of the Enlightenment.

Essays on the Transvaluation of Values

The Enlightenment and the Fate of Knowledge

Imprisoned by History: Aspects of Historicized Life offers a controversial analysis, grounded both in philosophical argument and empirical evidence, of what history does in contemporary culture.

Martin L. Davies

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