The study of intellectual history might be second only to the novel in the number of mournful obituaries it has received over the years. But--if the vibrancy on display in Thinking in the Past Tense is any indication--reports of the death of intellectual history have been greatly exaggerated. This collection of interviews with leading American and European scholars from such diverse fields as the history of science, classical studies, global philology, and the study of books and material culture positively brims with insights on historical scholarship of the early modern period (ca. 1400-1800). The lively conversations collected here don't simply reveal these scholars' depth and breadth of thought--they also disclose the kind of trade secrets that historians rarely elucidate in print. Thinking in the Past Tense offers students and professionals alike a rare tactile understanding of the practice of intellectual history.

About the Author
Alexander Bevilacqua is assistant professor of history at Williams College. Frederic Clark is assistant professor of classics at the University of Southern California.

Reviews
"This survey of many of the best practitioners of early modern intellectual history working today is equally informative and pleasurable for scholars of all times and places. Bevilacqua and Clark take a snapshot of the state of the art in professional writing about ideas and how different lines of thought and alternative modes of practice have converged and clashed in the origins of our times. And though the study of early modern Europe has been the crucible for our debates about how to write intellectual history generally, several contributors anticipate a future in which Europe's past is less and less central. A fascinating read."--Samuel Moyn, Yale University "In an age dominated by the sound bite and the tweet, it can be hard to resist the melancholy conclusion that the humanities are in crisis and that scholarship no longer beckons as a spiritual vocation. Thinking in the Past Tense offers reason for hope. In this intimate gallery of portraits we come face to face with eight distinguished practitioners of early modern intellectual history, and we are reminded once again of the traditional virtues of erudition and philological precision that continue to sustain this field even at a time when historical understanding seems under siege."--Peter E. Gordon, Harvard University



Book Information
ISBN 9780226601175
Author Alexander Bevilacqua
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press