Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

In the first half of my discussion of Patrick Deneen's "Why Liberalism Failed," I examine the structure of Deneen's argument, tracing his effort to connect present-day crises in education, science, culture, and morality to the fundamental flaws in "liberalism," which he calls the "operating system" of modern Western society, and which he claims has left us isolated, lonely, and afraid, with our social system possibly on the brink of collapse into a totalitarian nightmare. Cheers! Please support Historiansplaining, in the spirit of knowledge and inquiry, and to get more free lectures in the bargain! Sign up here to listen to this review, part 2: https://www.patreon.com/posts/23955111

We follow how a relatively obscure family of Swiss counts took advantage of the chaos of the late Middle Ages to become the most powerful dynasty in the history of central Europe, towering over European affairs, ruling "an empire on which the sun never sets," and even setting their sights on the dream of global dominion. We then consider the obstacles that the French, the Ottoman Turks, and the Protestants threw in their way, leading to the disastrous Thirty Years' War and their gradual fall from power. Please become a patron in order to hear the next twp installments in this series -- "Age of Absolutism 2: Tudor England" -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/27439446 & "Making The Modern State: Spain, Portugal, And The Inquisition" -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/making-modern-16827184 Suggested further reading: Paula Sutter Fichtner, "Meaning Well: The Curious Life of a Habsburg Idealist."

We unearth the tangled roots of the earliest forms of modern science, beginning with the radical alchemical theories of the rabble-rousing healer called Paracelsus, and running through the heated debates over Galileo's astronomy, which broke down the distinction between the earth and the heavens. Due to these shocks, the old teleological, or purpose-driven, scheme of the world broke down, giving way to a free-for-all of speculation and apocalyptic excitement. We question the historical meaning of the concept of "science," and consider how modern-day pop scientists like Neil DeGrasse Tyson portray the past selectively in order to build the myth of reason and science as beacons of light amidst superstition. Please become a patron and contribute what you can in the spirit of knowledge and inquiry! www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Suggested further reading: Walter Pagel, "Paracelsus"; Charles Webster, "The Great Instauration"; Francis Bacon, "The New Atlantis"; Pamela Smith, "The Body of the Artisan"; Deborah Harkness, "The Jewel House"; Frances Yates, "Giordano Bruno" and "The Rosicrucian Enlightenment"; Thomas Kuhn, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"; Steven Shapin, "The Scientific Revolution"

What is behind the popularity of Outlander? Why have crazed fans of the show from around the world begun to overrun Scottish castles? – and why did the UK Prime Minister secretly meet with TV executives to stop its premier in 2014? We examine the show’s success in light of Scottish history and politics, and in the context of the ongoing romance of Scotland, by which modern people project their longings for tradition, attachment, and honor onto a small, craggy country in the north of Britain. Please become a patron and contribute what you can in the spirit of knowledge and inquiry! www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

We trace the waves of crop failure, famine, pestilence, and war that swept over Europe in the 1600s as the climate sank into a “Little Ice Age” and armies literally marched across frozen seas. In the midst of unimaginable crisis, alchemists, astrologers, and apocalypticists scoured the Bible for prophecies to explain the disasters around them as part of the approaching End Times. Many of the defining institutions of the modern world we know today – such as overseas colonization, investor-owned corporations, public education, religious toleration, and scientific academies – have their origins as attempts to cope with the crisis of the seventeenth century and prepare the way for the Second Coming. Sign on as a patron in order to hear the next installment in this series, on "The Catholic Reformation" -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/19116040 Suggested Further Reading: Webster, "The Great Instauration"; Yates, "The Rosicrucian Enlightenment"; Hobsbawm, "The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century"

We trace the roots of the idea of witchcraft in the "cunning folk" of the Middle Ages. We consider how the church and state began to fuel fear of witchcraft and persecute witches in the tens of thousands during the age of the Renaissance and the Reformation. We consider theories of why witch-hunting arose so dramatically in this age, including economic strain and political agendas. Finally, we examine evidence for an enduring shamanic belief system centering on ecstatic night journeys that may have provided the inspiration for the mythical witches' sabbath. Please sign on as a patron in order to hear the next installment in this series on "The Century of Splintering: The Reformation in its Swiss and Radical Phases, 1519-1619" -- www.patreon.com/posts/18658722 Suggested further reading: Margaret Murray, "The Witch-Cult in Western Europe"; Norman Cohn, "Europe's Inner Demons"; Carlo Ginzburg, "Ecstasies"; Mary Beth Nortion, "In the Devil's Snare"; John Demos, "Entertaining Satan."

We trace how a small group of scholars, obsessed with classical antiquity, mastered the more ancient form of Latin, thus unlocking the worlds of Roman and Greek politics. Seeing themselves as the peers and equals of the ancient statesmen, the "humanists" called for a new form of learning aimed towards action and ambition. Machiavelli sketched out the path to princely power, Erasmus excavated the original meanings of the Bible, and Michelangelo captured the subtle powers of the human body. The humanists invented the idea of a "modern" era distinct from the "Dark Ages," and furthered the transformation of Europeans' grasp of reality -- from a realm defined by social relationships to one defined by the senses. Please become a patron of this podcast in order to hear the next lecture in this series -- on: "The Life of the Commoners -- Adaptation and Rebellion, 1400-1600" -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/18094403 Suggested further reading: Jacob Burckhardt, "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy"; JGA Pocock, "The Machiavellian Moment"; Pamela Smith, "The Body of the Artisan"

I briefly discuss the growing audience for Historiansplaining, and sketch plans for future shorter lectures on historical myths, some of which will be patron-only. Finally, I pose a hypothetical question for my listeners that may be harder to answer than it seems. Please become a patron and make it possible for these lectures to keep coming! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

All of history is, to one degree or another, mythology -- the weaving of a coherent, usable narrative out of the chaos of people's lives. We consider how societies all over the world, since before the beginning of civilization, have developed myths to explain the world that they experience. We also trace some of the major schools of academic history, which have tried to fashion overarching storylines to give meaning to human struggles -- from Biblical providential history to Marxism to postmodernism. We begin by examining the most central myth of the origins of American society: the "first Thanksgiving." Suggested further reading: Giambattista Vico, "The New Science"; Marc Bloch, "The Historian's Craft"; Hayden White, "Metahistory" Please sign on as a patron to hear the first "Myth of the Month" lecture -- on "The Enlightenment" -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/17538756

We trace how Portugal and Spain, two previously marginal European kingdoms, rapidly and unexpectedly exploded onto the world scene, building a chain of fortified colonies stretching from North Africa to China, and conquering the larger and richer empires of Mexico and Peru. The early Iberian colonizers sought to continue the tradition of the Crusades and the Reconquista, and saw their foreign conquests as steps towards retaking Jerusalem; the benefited not only from superior weaponry and navigation, but from cataclysmic disease epidemics that brought the Pre-Columbian empires to their knees. Please contribute what you can in the spirit of knowledge and inquiry! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Suggested further reading: Russell: "Prince Henry 'The Navigator': A Life"; Restall, "Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest"; Brading, "The First America."