Editing World history (field) (section)

==Historiography==
{{main|Historiography|Historical method}}
{{see also|Philosophy of history}}

{{rquote|right|Universal history is at once something more and something less than the [[:Category:History by country|aggregate of the national histories]] to which we are accustomed, that it must be approached in a different spirit and dealt with in a different manner|H. G. Wells, ''[[The Outline of History]]''}}

===Rankean historical positivism===
The roots of [[historiography]] in the 19th century are bound up with the concept that history written with a strong connection to the [[primary source]]s could [[Research|be integrated]] with "the big picture", i.e. to a general, universal history. For example, [[Leopold von Ranke]], probably the pre-eminent historian of the 19th century, founder of '''Rankean historical positivism'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->,{{sfn|Meer |2011|page=4}} the classic mode of historiography that now stands against [[postmodernism]], attempted to write a Universal History at the close of his career. The works of world historians [[Oswald Spengler]] and [[Arnold J. Toynbee]] are examples of attempts to integrate primary [[Source text|source-based]] history and Universal History. Spengler's work is more general; Toynbee created a theory that would allow the study of "civilizations" to proceed with integration of [[Recorded history|source-based history writing]] and Universal History writing.{{sfn|Yerxa|2009|page=1ff}} Both writers attempted to incorporate [[teleology|teleological theories]] into general presentations of the history. Toynbee found as the ''telos'' (''goal'') of universal history the emergence of a single [[World State]].

===Modernization theory===
According to [[Francis Fukuyama]], [[modernization theory]] is the "last significant Universal History" written in the 20th century.{{sfn|Fukuyama|1992|page=68-69}} This theory draws on Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. [[Talcott Parsons]]'s ''Societies. Evolutionary and Comparative Perspectives'' (1966) is a key statement of this view of world history.{{sfn|Parsons|1966}}

=== African and world history ===
In recent years, the relationship between African and world history has shifted rapidly from one of antipathy to one of engagement and synthesis. Reynolds (2007) surveys the relationship between African and world histories, with an emphasis on the tension between the area studies paradigm and the growing world-history emphasis on connections and exchange across regional boundaries. A closer examination of recent exchanges and debates over the merits of this exchange is also featured. Reynolds sees the relationship between African and world history as a measure of the changing nature of historical inquiry over the past century.<ref>Jonathan T. Reynolds, "Africa and World History: from Antipathy to Synergy." ''History Compass'' 2007 5(6): 1998–2013. ISSN 1478-0542 Fulltext: [1. History Compass]</ref>