Early Modern History and the Social Sciences

Book excerpt: Dealing more with the implications of Fernand Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World of Philip II (1949) for the current and prospective relationships of the social sciences to history than the arguments of the book itself, 11 essays from a June 1997 conference are presented by Marino (U. of California at San Diego). Braudel's work is considered by the contributors to be an important example of the contributions of French postwar structuralists to 20th century social science. Contributors from the fields of geography, economics, anthropology, political science, and psychology explore how Braudel's work offers insights as to how their respective disciplines approach the issue of social change. The papers are organized into sections dealing with long-term structures of geography, economic theory and practice, social and cultural understanding and trends, politics, and mentalities as defined by law and religion. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR