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6 years ago in Historiography , History By Deep

How do historians define the starting point of modern history?

As a doctoral student examining historiographical periodization, I'm grappling with the arbitrariness of these labels. My committee keeps referencing "early modern" and "modern" thresholds, but the foundational reasoning seems debated. I’d like to understand the scholarly consensus or main contenders for this pivotal turning point.

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By Karan D Answered 5 years ago

This is a classic and excellent methodological question. In my research, I’ve seen the "starting point" shift dramatically based on a scholar's geographical and thematic focus. The traditional Eurocentric markers are the Fall of Constantinople (1453) or Columbus's voyage (1492), emphasizing global connectivity. However, I would recommend critically examining work that challenges this, like that of Sanjay Subrahmanyam, who argues for "connected histories" and multiple, overlapping modernities emerging at different times globally. The "point" is a heuristic, not a fact.

 

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