Robert Darnton, in the introduction to his presidential address to the American Historical Association of 1999, speaks of the role of the media and communication systems in the « Old Regime » of France, circa 1750. He argues that the way in which people tend to view the modern era – as a unique « information age » does not give proper weight to the role of history, and in particular, to the « history of communication (Darnton 207). » He states :
« Standing here on the threshold of the year 2000, it appears that the road to the new millennium leads through Silicon Valley. We have entered the information age, and the future, it seems, will be determined by the media… I would like to dispute that view. Whatever its value as prophecy, it will not work for history, because it conveys a specious sense of a break with the past (ibid 207). »
[...] If so, then it is similar in this respect to 1776 and the era of Bayly's archaic globalization. The question of similarity between eras in the economic sphere is a complicated one, and perhaps also like today, economic growth in 1776 was patchy : What we have seen in all these cases are people both inside and outside Europe grappling with related, interconnected probles. These were problems which arose from the conflict between a just ideal and a changing social order. [...]
[...] In 2004, legal systems are increasingly uniform within and across national boundaries, which is a trend that was only beginning in 1776 (Rothschild 10.19 In this essay, I have asserted that history is a continuum, but that every era or historical phase is also unique. To support this assertion, I have attempted to show that similarities and differences exist between the worlds of 1776 and 2004. In conclusion, I find Darnton's approach to history somewhat problematic because he does not seem to consider the present as a real point of contrast in his interpretations of history. [...]
[...] News and media in 1776 Robert Darnton, in the introduction to his presidential address to the American Historical Association of 1999, speaks of the role of the media and communication systems in the Old Regime of France, circa 1750. He argues that the way in which people tend to view the modern era as a unique information age does not give proper weight to the role of history, and in particular, to the history of communication (Darnton 207). He states : Standing here on the threshold of the year 2000, it appears that the road to the new millennium leads through Silicon Valley. [...]
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