Historicism (The New Critical Idiom) [Hardcover]

Paul Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415133114 | ISBN-13: 978-0415133111 | Publication Date: December 21, 1995

Historicism is the essential introduction to the field, providing its readers with the necessary knowledge, background and vocabulary to apply it in their own studies. Paul Hamilton's compact and comprehensive guide:

* explains the theory and basics of historicism
* presents a history of the term and its uses
* introduces the reader to the key thinkers in the field, from ancient Greece to modern times
* considers historicism in contemporary debates and its relevance to other modes of criticism, such as feminism and post-colonialism
* contains an extensive bibliography of further reading.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Hamilton is Professor of English at Queen Mary, University of London. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (December 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415133114
• ISBN-13: 978-0415133111
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,430,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Historicism, March 29, 2000

By 

R. Slammon (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Historicism (The New Critical Idiom) (Paperback)

Hamilton's book advertizes itself as an accomplishment in finally clarifying for us the confusing and controversial notion of "historicism." It provides a good survey of the key figures and philosophical commitments in the history of historicism and attempts to deal with the stakes involved in contemporary investments of the concept. But Hamilton's text turns out to be, at best, a kind of apologia and, at worst, a "how-to." Consequently, his assessment--and understanding, I'm affraid--of historicism is delivered from the position of a believer and advocate. This contributes to the reproduction of a lot of conventional mantras about historicism, such as, for example, that it somehow represented--and still does--an "anti-modernist" position. We are still modernist, in a sense, and this is why, as this book demonstrates, it is difficult to think outside the framework of historicism. A provocative book, but not deserving of its authoritative title.