John Arnold's Very Short Introduction is a stimulating essay about how we study and understand history. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. There are many stories we can tell about the past, and we are not, perhaps, as free as we might imagine in our choice of which stories to tell, or where those stories end. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. Concepts such as causation, interpretation, and periodization, are introduced by means of concrete examples of how historians work, giving the reader a sense of the excitement of discovering not only the past, but also ourselves.

The book begins by inviting us to think about various questions provoked by our investigation of history, and explores the ways these questions have been answered in the past. In 2008 he wrote a policy paper, Why history matters - and why medieval history also matters, for History & Policy.There are many stories we can tell about the past, and we are not, perhaps, as free as we might imagine in our choice of which stories to tell, or where those stories end. In his work he asks 'Why do people believe the things they believe? What does 'believing' really mean in practice?' Arnold has also written widely about historiography.

He is a member of the Social History Society and the Medieval Academy of America.Īrnold specialises in the study of medieval religious culture, saying that while he has never been a believer in any religion, 'belief' has always fascinated him. Condition: Used - Very Good Binding: Paperback ISBN 10: 019285352X.

Before that he was a lecturer at the University of East Anglia. History: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions). He joined the college as a lecturer in 2001. He was professor of medieval history at Birkbeck College, University of London, from 2008. He has also written widely on historiography and why history matters.īorn 28 November 1969, Arnold received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history and his Doctor of Philosophy degree in medieval studies from the University of York. The average reader, reading at a speed of 300 WPM, would take 2 hours and 32 minutes to read History. He previously worked at Birkbeck College, University of London, where he specialised in the study of medieval religious culture. The book begins by inviting us to think about various questions provoked by our investigation. Since 2016, he has been the Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge. John Arnold's Very Short Introduction is a stimulating essay about how we study and understand history. John Hugh Arnold (born 1969) is a British historian.

John h arnold a very short introduction