Whose Global History

Overview

Over the past two decades, the field of Global History has become firmly embedded within the historical discipline. However, it has been less successful in moving beyond a Euro-American institutional rootedness and intellectual orientation. Critics have pointed to the Eurocentricity of its conceptual frameworks; the dominance of Anglophone scholarship produced by Global North-based researchers and presses; and the marginalisation of actors, concepts, and perspectives originating in the Global South. “Whose Global History?” is an international collective focused on the inequalities affecting historical research at a global level. It questions who Global History is primarily about, who it is written by, and who it is written for. Based in the Global History and Culture Centre (GHCC) at Warwick and the Department of History and Civilization at the European University Institute (EUI), the collective brings together scholars from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe to discuss inclusive practices for collaborative research, resource sharing, and methodological innovation in global history research. It is working towards a joint output for the Journal of Global History entitled "Global History in a Time of Crises".

Key aims

To identify the challenges and opportunities presented by researching the global past in different national and institutional settings and increase awareness of the inequalities that shape research at a global level
To diversify the methodology of global history through engagement with previously marginalised concepts and perspectives originating from different parts of the world
To enhance participation in the structures of global history research and through South-South and North-South exchange and collaboration

Events

Two-day workshop "Global History in a Time of Crisis", Warwick, 17-18 June 2024.
Two-day workshop "Whose Global History?", Warwick Venice Centre, 11-12 December 2023.
Summer School in Global and Transnational History: "Whose Global History? Perspectives from the Global South and BeyondLink opens in a new window", EUI, 11-13 September 2023.
Online "Whose Global History?" network meetings, June 2022, October 2022, May 2023.

Project leads

Guido van Meersbergen (Warwick)

Giorgio Riello (EUI)

History Global History and Culture Centre