Ladurie's approach to history was to view it in the long term rather than a series of political events. He focused on long-term continuities. His approach was also unique because he focused not on kings and policitcal figures but on peasants. His doctoral theses Les Paysans de Languedoc is a total history of the peasants of a region in southern France.
Ladurie measured history by generations and centuries, not by decades. He also used quantitative data such as tithes, although critics say that data could be imprecise. In addittion to peasant life, Ladurie wrote about the History of Climate through analyzing tree rings he developed a chronology of climate change. Again, he emphasized gradual changes and long-term continuities. This project conntected historians with scientists.
I wonder if his approach to examining the past over such broad sections of time is still relevant in reviewing modern history. It seems that in modern history every decade has been unique.
No comments:
Post a Comment