The colonizer's model of the world : geographical diffusionism and Eurocentric history

Book

The colonizer's model of the world : geographical diffusionism and Eurocentric history / J.M. Blaut.

Blaut, James M. (James Morris) (Author).

Summary:

The Colonizer's Model of the World challenges one of the most pervasive and powerful beliefs of our time concerning world history and world geography. This is the doctrine of European diffusionism, the belief that the rise of Europe to modernity and world dominance is due to some unique European quality of race, environment, culture, mind, or spirit, and that progress for the rest of the world results from the diffusion of European civilization. J.M. Blaut persuasively argues that this doctrine is not grounded in the facts of history and geography, but in the ideology of colonialism. It is the world model that Europeans constructed to explain, justify, and assist their colonial expansion. This highly readable, illuminating volume will challenge and inform a broad audience that includes general readers. Disputing fundamental ideas in geography, history, anthropology, and the humanities, it is essential reading for professors and students in these fields.

Record details

ISBN: 0898623499
ISBN: 9780898623499
ISBN: 0898623480
ISBN: 9780898623482
Physical Description: viii, 246 pages ; 24 cm.
Publisher: New York : Guilford Press, �1993.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-236) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: 1. History Inside Out. The Argument -- The Tunnel of Time -- Eurocentric Diffusionism -- The Colonizer's Model -- World Models and Worldly Interests --- 2. The Myth of the European Miracle. Mythmakers and Critics -- The Myth --- 3. Before 1492. edieval Landscapes -- Protocapitalism in Africa, Asia, and Europe --- 4. After 1492. Explaining 1492 -- Colonialism and the Rise of Europe, 1492-1688 -- The Centration of Capitalism --- 5. Conclusion.