The European Experience: A Multi-Perspective History of Modern Europe, 1500–2000

Reviewed by Mark Norris, Professor of History, Grace College on 12/30/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

"The European Experience: A Multi-Perspective History of Modern Europe, 1500-2000," offers an impressively expansive, multi-focused, and layered look at modern Europe. In its nearly one thousand pages, it includes scholarship from almost a hundred historians from seventeen European universities and research organizations and provides unparalleled depth and diversity of perspectives for a work of its kind (the authors refer to this as a "handbook"). Helpful discussion questions, as well as suggested readings, are to be found at the end of each of its many sections. The authors mention that in any work of this type, there will be incompleteness. They refer to the picture on the cover of "The European Experience," which is of a classical sculpture of an angel that is missing her head. Their point in this visual display is that history is never complete. This work is to help students ask what other voices and perspectives would help us to understand the flow of history and thus generate interesting multi-perspective discussions. The index is also comprehensive and helpful.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The work is accurate and error-free. The impressive number of contributing scholars ensures its multi-perspective, and therefore unbiased, approach.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The authors refer to their pedagogical approach as "multi-perspectivity" and define this as using different perspectives "to evaluate historical events and processes." This methodology will ensure that this work will not become quickly outdated. Like a lot of survey textbooks, the time frame may be added to by lengthening the concluding sections.

Clarity rating: 4

The authors state that this is intended for BA history undergraduates in international classrooms. They also make it clear that they consulted groups of international students to give critical feedback ",,, and whenever this representative audience had the feeling that the scope, content, or structure of this handbook did not serve its purpose, we went back to the drawing board...." This helped release the work from overly technical technology and clarified the flow of writing. The number of sections and subsections, though they make sense theoretically, do hinder the flow of the text at times.

Consistency rating: 5

Internal consistency is one of the strengths of this work. Their multi-perspective approach is used throughout and forms an underlying unity for the work. Equal space is given to each chapter theme and the terminology is consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

It is almost mathematically divided into seven chapters each containing three time periods and each period containing three to four sections. The time periods are 1500-1800, 1800-1900, 1900-2000. This could easily be broken into three books: Early Modern, Modern, and Contemporary History. Also, individual themes could be used as reading sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The primary organization of this work is theme-driven rather than chronological. The authors maintain that the flow is not the classical grand narrative of European Civilization. Their work is divided into seven chapters (or units) entitled. IDENTITIES, SOCIETIES, POWER AND CITIZENSHIP, KNOWLEDGE, ECONOMY, LIVING WITH DIFFERENCES, and CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS. However, these are then each divided into subthemes which are then divided into time periods. For example, Chapter One (or Unit 1) looks at "IDENTITIES." This is divided into "IDEAS OF EUROPE," "BORDERS," "MIGRATION," and "EUROPE’S OTHER(ED)S: THE AMERICAS, AFRICA, ASIA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST." Each is then examined within the context of each of the three time periods of early modern, modern, and contemporary history.

Interface rating: 5

There are no significant interface issues. The text is easy to navigate and the images and charts are visible and relevant to the text at hand.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I could see no grammatical errors in this text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The multi-perspective approach to this work is its strength and therefore it is culturally sensitive. The theme for chapter (or unit) two is "SOCIETIES." The sub-themes are: "DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE," "INTERETHNIC RELATIONS," "HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY," and "INEQUALITIES." In a Discussion Questions section for the first sub-theme appears the question, "The twentieth century was full of interethnic tensions. Do you think the EU has solved these problems? Why or why not?" The authors engage students in the multiculturalism of the European past and ask them to relate it to contexts today in Europe. This is even explored further in a Discussion Questions section of this chapter in the subtheme entitled "INEQUALITIES." Here students are asked: "Do you think the inequalities of the twentieth century still exist today? Why or why not? Are there new inequalities in the twenty-first century?" Again, we see the authors pushing the students to relate diverse social themes to their contexts. In a Discussion Questions section of our sixth subtheme, "HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILIES," appears the question: "Describe how the idea of motherhood changed in the nineteenth century. Does this still influence our society today?"

This work could be used as a stand-alone text in an upper-level history class or sections could be taken out and used within additional online sources. This is an ideal textbook for international undergrad students. Focusing on the Questions for Discussion will help American history students liberate themselves from their tendency to cling to chronology.