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historical theory

Of Hope and History: Tocqueville’s “Democratic Historians” and Free Will

This is a guest post from Timothy K. Minella. Minella recently finished his PhD in history at the University of South Carolina, where he is presently a part-time instructor. His dissertation is titled “Knowing in America: The Enlightenment, Science, and the Early Republic” and directed by Ann Johnson. – TL ————————————————————— Peter Wirzbicki’s excellent post from December on hope and history prompted me to reflect on various narrative styles in historical writing. Tocqueville’s Democracy in America provides one way to think about agency and imagination in history. Read more