Most of the chapters in this fine collection would work very well in the undergraduate classroom ... Each chapter chooses a small group of examples or moments to focus on, with brief mention of others, so students won't get buried in a mass of names and dates. The book as a whole could be assigned in thematic upper-level or graduate courses, both for its content and for the examples that the chapters provide about how to write comparative and world/global history on a specific topic in a research-paper length format. Because many of its examples are not ones often discussed, more advanced scholars of world history would gain by reading the book as well. * World History Connected *
Antoinette Burton and Tony Ballantyne present a highly readable collection of essays that will challenge both scholars and students to rethink traditional approaches to world history ... Ambitious in scope but meticulous in detail, this collection functions equally well as a primer for undergraduate students or as a resource for advanced scholars seeking to draw wider transnational connections with their work ... The essays included in this volume present an impressively coherent narrative when read together but also function well as stand-alone pieces. * Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History *
This collection of essays goes a long way toward localizing global history and at the same time de-nationalizing the study of the past. Whereas globalization has tended to be understood in terms of transnational movements of people, goods, and ideas, the contributors here examine these phenomena in local contexts. At the same time, they analyze how seemingly disparate developments in various parts of the world have also been shared across national boundaries, thus fostering a world of hybridity in which we live. The volume should serve as an excellent starting point for the understanding of the closely interconnected and at the same time intensely localized world that exists today. * Akira Iriye, Harvard University, USA *
An essential introduction to the study of world/global history, this book builds upon the best of recent research to develop original and suggestive approaches that emphasize history from the bottom up, that is, the real-life struggles of ordinary people across the world to maintain and reshape their lives. * Lynn Hunt, University of California Los Angeles, USA *
This book is exactly what history students need today. At a time when contests over the impact of globalisation dominate the contemporary world, two of our most influential scholar-activists, Antoinette Burton and Tony Ballantyne have entered the fray with a challenging new anthology. World Histories from Below opens windows on new horizons and enlarges our understanding of the past. The original insights of the contributors gathered here, combined with their geographical range and generous engagement with diverse historiographies make this an essential text for history students around the world and indeed for all readers who care about the future of our planet. * Marilyn Lake, The University of Melbourne, Australia *
