Critical Theory of Pre-1900 History

The application of Critical Theory to history before 1900—examining how this vast terrain is constructed, how it serves present interests, and what's erased. Critical Theory of Pre-1900 History asks: How do we know what we think we know about this period? Whose voices survive, whose are lost? How have histories of pre-1900 been used to justify contemporary power? Drawing on postcolonial and feminist historiography, it insists that pre-1900 history is never just "back then"—it's a resource for the present, and its construction reflects present politics.

"Pre-1900 history is just what happened, they say. Critical Theory of Pre-1900 History asks: what happened according to whom? The archives were kept by the powerful; the voices of the enslaved, the colonized, the women are largely silent. Pre-1900 history is full of gaps—and those gaps tell us as much as the records. Critical theory insists on asking: who's missing from this story, and why?"

Critical Theory of Pre-1900 History by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026