Anyone (novice and expert) interested in the long history of the use of ‘liberal’ will enjoy reading and learning from Helena Rosenblatt’s (2018) The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to Twenty-First Century. It is especially fascinating on the French nineteenth century debates over Church vs State in general,* and the role of education in these in particular. It centers Constant and De Staël, and so is a useful corrective to twentieth century liberal hagiography of Locke. Unlike many histories of liberalism, it also devotes considerable attention to the role of ‘liberal’ in theology and religious reform. And while it is not hostile toward liberal self-understanding it does not ignore to mention liberal enmeshment in empire, race science, eugenics, and anti-feminism when it occurred.
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Helena Rosenblatt's Lost History of…
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Anyone (novice and expert) interested in the long history of the use of ‘liberal’ will enjoy reading and learning from Helena Rosenblatt’s (2018) The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to Twenty-First Century. It is especially fascinating on the French nineteenth century debates over Church vs State in general,* and the role of education in these in particular. It centers Constant and De Staël, and so is a useful corrective to twentieth century liberal hagiography of Locke. Unlike many histories of liberalism, it also devotes considerable attention to the role of ‘liberal’ in theology and religious reform. And while it is not hostile toward liberal self-understanding it does not ignore to mention liberal enmeshment in empire, race science, eugenics, and anti-feminism when it occurred.