Total History Initiative

Our goals

The Total History Initiative has three goals.

First, to promote objectivity in the study of history. We recognize that all historians and social scientists are products of their time, but we still look toward a truth that is beyond our own political biases.

Second, to combine the various fields of history. We believe that cultural, diplomatic, economic, intellectual, military, political, social, and other types of history should all be used to answer questions about the past.

Third, to integrate history and the social sciences. We apply the models and analytical tools of disciplines such as economics and sociology to history, while also using historical narratives to inform our understanding of what causes social change.

About us

The Total History Initiative was founded in June 2023 by Joseph Francis, a farmer and historian from Wales. Joe has a PhD in Economic History from the London School of Economics and is currently finishing his first book, for Harvard University Press. It is provisionally titled King Cotton and the Whale: How Slavery Made American Capitalism. Joe lives on the border with England, near Hereford, where the cathedral possesses a 700-year-old mappa mundi. It was an early attempt to write a total history, so it forms the motif for the Total History Initiative. The name is inspired by the French historians of the Annales school, especially Fernand Braudel.

We are a non-profit company limited by guarantee. By supporting us, you will initially help us to write and publish original research. We ultimately aim to become an institute that will offer an accredited postgraduate degree in total history.

@totalhistoryin

Total History Initiative Follow 10 65

We are building bridges between history and the social sciences.

; Total History Initiative @totalhistoryin ·

6 Sep 1699457855735112164

Historians focus on storytelling; scientists test hypotheses.

The goal should be to tell good stories about well-tested hypotheses.

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; John Handel @_John_Handel ·

19 Jul 1681655097154043904

Great thread. This is the debate we need to be having. Preserving the humanities as they are currently constituted means resigning ourselves to a much smaller role in the university. Or we can change the core values of the humanities so that they meet the moment

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; Total History Initiative @totalhistoryin ·

17 Jul 1680952891694039041

The working paper ‘The Slavery Debates or: Why We Need a New Total History’ by @joefrancis505 is the first post at our new substack! https://tinyurl.com/5fn2wrh6

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; joseph francis @joefrancis505 ·

11 Jul 1678746994762825729

The Total History Initiative is my new project. It's just a little seed, but my dream is for it to grow into something bigger. It has a website () and its own Twitter account (@totalhistoryin).

This thread outlines my goals for the project.

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Contact

You can write to us at info@total-history.org if you would like to get in touch.

We also send an occasional newsletter, which you can join here: