The Comparative Method and the History of the Modern Humanities
Abstrak
This article studies the modern development of the comparative method in the humanities and social sciences within Europe and the United States, and specifically addresses comparative subfields of philology, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, political science, literature, history, and folklore studies. A juxtapositional study of these disciplinary histories demonstrates the historical relation between their methods and relation to other fields, like comparative anatomy. It elucidates several recurrent features of the different applications of comparativism, particularly a consistent tension between genetic (or historical) versus functionalist (or contextual) explanations for common patterns, and suggests that comparatists would benefit from closer study both of the history of the method and its development within other fields. Ultimately this study casts fresh light on the modern history of the humanities, their incomplete differentiation from social-scientific fields like sociology and political science, and the interdisciplinary exchanges that have often shaped entire fields of study.
Topik & Kata Kunci
Penulis (1)
Devin Griffiths
Akses Cepat
- Tahun Terbit
- 2017
- Bahasa
- en
- Total Sitasi
- 29×
- Sumber Database
- Semantic Scholar
- DOI
- 10.1086/693325
- Akses
- Open Access ✓