Marc Ferro and the French School of the History of International Relations

I.K. Kalimonov^*, V.E. Tumanin^**, E.I. Kamaletdinova^***

Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia

E-mail: ^*Kazan-Kalimonov@mail.ru, ^**v.tumanin@mail.ru, ^***elvira-imoiv@mail.ru

Received February 15, 2022

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Full text PDF

DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2022.3.29-36

For citation: Kalimonov I.K., Tumanin V.E., Kamaletdinova E.I. Marc Ferro and the French School of the History of International Relations. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2022, vol. 164, no. 3, pp. 29–36. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2022.3.29-36. (In Russian)

Abstract

This article focuses on an interesting aspect of the scholarly career of Marc Ferro, one of the most famous French historians of the 20th century. He was not only the editor-in-chief of the Annales, but also the co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary History, which encouraged him to attempt experiences beyond the traditional scope of the Annales. Historians who published their findings in the Annales were either medieval or modern history researchers, i.e., they believed that contemporary history provides no suitable material for historical studies. Thus, M. Ferro was a pioneer of the study of the modern history of France. In addition, as a disciple of Pierre Renouwen, he actively developed the history of international relations. P. Renouwen and M. Ferro, unlike most historians of the Annales School of History, held to the critical assessment of the role of mentality in historical change. Here we discuss their approach to the study of the world of perceptions as a factor determining the dynamics of change in the world of people's perceptions and its reflection in the changing international situation. Based on an analysis of the works of these historians, it is concluded that a shortcoming of the traditional approaches of the Annales School is the desire for universalism, which became a source of misunderstanding of many contemporary processes that the West deals with in the former colonial countries.

Keywords: international relations, foreign regional studies, M. Ferro, Annales School, history of historical science, Eurocentrism

References

1. Duroselle J.-B. Opinion, attitude, mentalité, mythe, idéologie: Essai de clarification. Relations internationales, 1974, Т. 2, pp. 4–35. (In French)
2. Koselleсk R. Der Einfluß der beide Weltkriege auf das soziale Bewusstsein. In: Der Krieg des kleinen Mannes. Eine Militärschichte von unter. München, Zürich, Piper, 1992, S. 35–46. (In German)
3. Nora P. “Historians have learned that laws are a very dangerous thing”: An interview with historian P. Nora. Rec. by Lozinskaya A. In: Uroki istorii [Lessons of History], 2010, May 31. Available at: https://urokiistorii.ru/article/1049. (In Russian)
4. Conze E. Nationale Vergangenheit und globale Zukunft. In: Geschichte ist immer Gegenwart. Thesen zur Zeitgeschichte. Stuttgart, München, Deutsche Verlag Anstalt, 2001, S. 43–65. (In German)

The content is available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.