The Course of Civilizations
About this book
The Course of Civilizations is a masterful collection of essays by cultural historian Johan Huizinga on the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the concepts of history and culture. In his exceptionally creative approach to history—called “cultural history”—Huizinga gave primacy of place to social relations, from which a culture derives its formative ideas and thus its unique character. The essays in this volume cover a fascinating range of topics, including the task of the historian; the role of ideals in cultural evolution; nationalism and patriotism; realism and the Renaissance; and a series of biographical portraits. Delivered in Huizinga’s classic, approachable voice, they present a compelling, critical treatise on how historical periods realize their shape and meaning within the broader context of the course of civilizations.