Geoff Eley
Encyclopedia
Geoff Eley is a British
-born historian
of Germany
. He received his D.Phil from the University of Sussex
in 1974, and has taught at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
since 1979. He now serves as the Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor at that institution.
Eley's early work focused on the radical nationalism
in Imperial Germany, but has since grown to include theoretical and methodological reflections on historiography
and the history of the political left
in Europe
.
Eley is particularly well-known for his early study, The Peculiarities of German History (first published in German as Mythen deutscher Geschichtsschreibung in 1984), co-authored with David Blackbourn
(a fellow Briton, who now teaches at Harvard University
), which challenged the new orthodoxy in German social history known as the Sonderweg thesis
.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
-born historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He received his D.Phil from the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
in 1974, and has taught at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
since 1979. He now serves as the Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor at that institution.
Eley's early work focused on the radical nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in Imperial Germany, but has since grown to include theoretical and methodological reflections on historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
and the history of the political left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Eley is particularly well-known for his early study, The Peculiarities of German History (first published in German as Mythen deutscher Geschichtsschreibung in 1984), co-authored with David Blackbourn
David Blackbourn
David Gordon Blackbourn is the Coolidge Professor of History at Harvard University and director of the university's Minda de Gunzberg Center for European Studies. Blackbourn teaches and researches primarily in the fields of German and modern European history...
(a fellow Briton, who now teaches at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
), which challenged the new orthodoxy in German social history known as the Sonderweg thesis
Sonderweg
Sonderweg is a controversial theory in German historiography that considers the German-speaking lands, or the country Germany, to have followed a unique course from aristocracy into democracy, distinct from other European countries...
.
Works
(This list does not include edited volumes or articles.)- A Crooked Line: From Cultural History to the History of Society. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005.
- Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850-2000. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
- Reshaping the German Right: Radical Nationalism and Political Change after Bismarck. London and New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980; new ed. 1991.
- Wilhelminismus, Nationalismus, Faschismus: Zur historischen Kontinuität in Deutschland. Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot, 1991.
- From Unification to Nazism: Reinterpreting the German Past. London: Routledge, 1986.
- The Peculiarities of German History (with David Blackbourn). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.