Other pasts, different presents, alternative futures [electronic resource] / Jeremy Black.

9780253016973
9780253017048
9780253017062 (electronic book)

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2015]

©2015

English

1 online resource (254 pages)

D210 .B536 2015eb

900

"What if there had been no World War I or no Russian Revolution? What if Napoleon had won at Waterloo in 1815, or if Martin Luther had not nailed his complaints to the church door at Wittenberg in 1517, or if the South had won the American Civil War? The questioning of apparent certainties or 'known knowns' can be fascinating and, indeed, 'What if?' books are very popular. However, this speculative approach, known as counterfactualism, has had limited impact in academic histories, historiography, and the teaching of historical methods. In this book, Jeremy Black offers a short guide to the subject, one that is designed to argue its value as a tool for public and academe alike. Black focuses on the role of counterfactualism in demonstrating the part of contingency, and thus human agency, in history, and the salutary critique the approach offers to determinist accounts of past, present, and future"--Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on print version record.

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