The aim of this book is both to illustrate and to discuss some of
the main varieties of cultural history which have emerged since the
questioning of what might be called its ‘classic’ form, exemplified
in the work of Jacob Burckhardt and Johan Huizinga. Among the
themes of individual chapters are the history of popular culture,
the history of Carnival, the history of mentalities, the history of
gestures, the history of jokes, and even the history of dreams.
The emphasis of both the introduction and the case-studies which
follow is on the variety of forms taken by cultural history today.
The classic model has not been replaced by any new orthodoxy,
despite the importance of approaches inspired by social and
cultural anthropology. Variety is to be found in the cultures
studied as well as among their historians. The case-studies
included in the volume come not only from Europe (and in particular
from Italy) but also from the New World, especially Brazil.
Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of cultural
encounters, cultural conflicts, and their consequences, whether
these consequences should be described in terms of mixing,
syncretism or synthesis.
Written by one of the leading cultural historians in Europe
today, this book will be of particular interest to students of
early modern Europe, of the encounters between European culture and
the New World, and to students and scholars interested in problems
of historiography.
Tabella dei contenuti
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Origins of Cultural History 1
2 The Cultural History of Dreams 23
3 History as Social Memory 43
4 The Language of Gesture in Early Modern Italy 60
5 Frontiers of the Comic in Early Modern Italy 77
6 The Discreet Charm of Milan: English Travellers in the Seventeenth Century 94
7 Public and Private Spheres in Late Renaissance Genoa 111
8 Learned Culture and Popular Culture in Renaissance Italy 124
9 Chivalry in the New World 136
10 The Translation of Culture: Carnival in Two or Three Worlds 148
11 Strengths and Weaknesses of the History of Mentalities 162
12 Unity and Variety in Cultural History 183
Bibliography 213
Index 241
Circa l’autore
Peter Burke is Professor of Cultural History at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
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