Hyperbole? Some people think so. A historian of empire at a well-known British university - incidentally one where I received one of my post-graduate degrees - has this week written a dismissive review of Nigel Biggar’s new book ‘Colonialism, A Moral Reckoning’ with the accusation that the history culture wars are in effect a figment of Biggar’s imagination. He denies that the overall tenor of historical evaluation of empire is ethically biased, suggesting that Biggar has created something of a strawman to advance a spurious argument that historians are subverting the study of imperial history to advance their own political agendas. But he undermines his argument by the rather bizarre assertion that authors such as Caroline Elkins ‘publish their scholarship as part of a vibrant, global set of debates that team with exciting disagreement about the history of empire.’ Anyone who has had the misfortune to read Ms Elkins book will recognise that it is hardly any of these things.
Nigel Biggar and the battle for history
Nigel Biggar and the battle for history
Nigel Biggar and the battle for history
Hyperbole? Some people think so. A historian of empire at a well-known British university - incidentally one where I received one of my post-graduate degrees - has this week written a dismissive review of Nigel Biggar’s new book ‘Colonialism, A Moral Reckoning’ with the accusation that the history culture wars are in effect a figment of Biggar’s imagination. He denies that the overall tenor of historical evaluation of empire is ethically biased, suggesting that Biggar has created something of a strawman to advance a spurious argument that historians are subverting the study of imperial history to advance their own political agendas. But he undermines his argument by the rather bizarre assertion that authors such as Caroline Elkins ‘publish their scholarship as part of a vibrant, global set of debates that team with exciting disagreement about the history of empire.’ Anyone who has had the misfortune to read Ms Elkins book will recognise that it is hardly any of these things.