The Rounding of the Earth: Ecology and Global History
Author(s)
Goodwin, Neva R.
Abstract
In this chapter, the author tries to address a common theme in world history: the relation of humanity and earth, which she calls global ecological history. Before doing that, as a relatively new form of history, some questions regarding global history must be answered. The first one is: what is the subject matter of global history? She defines global history as the story of the human race as a whole, and then tries to arrive to a definition by asking what global history is not. Secondly, she asks: what is the basis for a conscious awareness of global history?. She mentions trade, technologies, the sharing of cultural values, etc. Then she asks: why are these global subjects a fit topic for history? Here her statement is that the value resides in that global historians make generalizations about the effects of human beings in groups or as a species. Finally, she asks: is it reasonable that the subject matter of global history is not adequately treated in the sorts of history that are already being written? She says it is not. Besides these thoughts, she reminds us that, since the interest in the local and the national will always be present among historians, global history will not answer all needs, and that in turn has to find its niche in the world of academic history.
