Beyond the Old Dichotomies to a New History of Capitalism: An Appreciative Critique of Robert C.H. Sweeny

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-101
Author(s):  
IAN MCKAY
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Economic History ◽  
General Question ◽  
History Of Capitalism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Intellectual Journey

Robert C.H. Sweeny’s Why Did We Choose to Industrialize? offers readers enlightening quantitative case studies of the socio-economic history of nineteenth-century Montreal, linked by intriguing autobiographical sketches charting the author’s own intellectual journey. In this appreciate critique, I raise questions about the extent to which he has convincingly situated Montreal in the famous matrix of debates among Marxists about the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and suggest that in many respects the book, although convincing in many of its particulars, does not succeed in answering the general question posed by its title. Should debates about capitalism remain trapped in the unresolved (and likely unresolvable) twentieth-century debates pitting agency against structure?

The Emergence of a National Economy: An Economic History of Indonesia, 1800–2000. By Howard Dick, Vincent J. H. Houben, J. Thomas Lindblad, and Thee Kian Wie. Crows Nest NSW, Australia: Allen and Unwin, 2002. Pp. xvii, 286. $38.00.

2003 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddarth Chandra
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
State Formation ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
National Economy ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Easy Task ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fundamental Forces ◽  
Economic Regions

Written by four leading economic historians of Indonesia from three continents, this book is an excellent account of the emergence of the Indonesian economy in the twentieth century from what was a cluster of disparate economic regions at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Using an innovative and, in the context of Indonesia, highly appropriate theme, the authors identify three fundamental forces that shaped the emergence of the Indonesian national economy: successive waves of globalization (and dislocation), state formation, and economic integration. The book is admirably successful in fulfilling its claim, not an easy task given the volume of literature that had to be mastered and put into perspective in order to comprehensively describe this process.

Twentieth-Century Malayan Economic History: A Select Bibliographic Survey

1979 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wong Lin Ken
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Economic History ◽  
History Of

More than a decade ago, when Singapore was still part of Malaysia, the author wrote, at the invitation of the Journal of Economic History, a bibliographic essay on the economic history of that country. It turned out to be an exploration into the possibility of writing a general economic history of Malaysia. It concluded that the nineteenth century was better studied than the twentieth, and that certain states, periods, and sectors of the economy received greater attention than others. The conclusion then was that a general economic history of Malaysia was not feasible.

scholarly journals What is the value of a technological history of cinema?

2013 ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
Lee Grieveson
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Secondary Material ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Nineteenth

Cinema was a product of the second-stage Industrial Revolution. This article examines some aspects of the technological and economic history of cinema and that revolution. It draws on secondary material on the electrical and chemical developments beginning in the late nineteenth century, and on primary research on particular case studies where cinema technology was used to further the economic objectives of industrial and financial organisations.

Women, Citizenship, and Sexuality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie C. Hawthorne
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
National Belonging ◽  
The Core ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
Natalie Barney ◽  
Expatriate Women

Until well into the twentieth century, the claims to citizenship of women in the US and in Europe have come through men (father, husband); women had no citizenship of their own. The case studies of three expatriate women (Renée Vivien, Romaine Brooks, and Natalie Barney) illustrate some of the consequences for women who lived independent lives. To begin with, the books traces the way that ideas about national belonging shaped gay male identity in the nineteenth century, before showing that such a discourse was not available to women and lesbians, including the three women who form the core of the book. In addition to questions of sexually non-conforming identity, women's mediated claim to citizenship limited their autonomy in practical ways (for example, they could be unilaterally expatriated). Consequently, the situation of the denizen may have been preferable to that of the citizen for women who lived between the lines. Drawing on the discourse of jurisprudence, the history of the passport, and original archival research on all three women, the books tells the story of women's evolving claims to citizenship in their own right.

Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Religious Background ◽  
Literary Context ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Selection Of

This book examines the ways in which the biblical book of Esther was read, understood, and used in Muslim lands, from ancient to modern times. It zeroes-in on a selection of case studies, covering works from various periods and regions of the Muslim world, including the Qur’an, premodern historical chronicles and literary works, the writings of a nineteenth-century Shia feminist, a twentieth-century Iranian dictionary, and others. These case studies demonstrate that Muslim sources contain valuable materials on Esther, which shed light both on the Esther story itself and on the Muslim peoples and cultures that received it. The book argues that Muslim sources preserve important, pre-Islamic materials on Esther that have not survived elsewhere, some of which offer answers to ancient questions about Esther, such as the meaning of Haman’s epithet in the Greek versions of the story, the reason why Mordecai refused to prostrate himself before Haman, and the literary context of the “plot of the eunuchs” to kill the Persian king. Furthermore, throughout the book we will see how each author’s cultural and religious background influenced his or her understanding and retelling of the Esther story: In particular, it will be shown that Persian Muslims (and Jews) were often forced to reconcile or choose between the conflicting historical narratives provided by their religious and cultural heritages respectively.

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