Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic status
The unprecedentedly high level of popularity of Y. N. Harari, а professor at the faculty of history of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and his main book trilogy, foreground the problem of interpreting and explaining the so-called Hararimania phenomenon, which has become a notable event in the ac...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Belarusian |
| Published: |
Belarusian State University
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Журнал Белорусского государственного университета: История |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/history/article/view/4786 |
| _version_ | 1811303281640603648 |
|---|---|
| author | Anatoliy I. Zelenkov Yana A. Yahela |
| author_facet | Anatoliy I. Zelenkov Yana A. Yahela |
| author_sort | Anatoliy I. Zelenkov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The unprecedentedly high level of popularity of Y. N. Harari, а professor at the faculty of history of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and his main book trilogy, foreground the problem of interpreting and explaining the so-called Hararimania phenomenon, which has become a notable event in the academic community and popular culture of modern Western societies. The purpose of this article is the historical and philosophical reconstruction of the creative evolution of Y. N. Harari with an emphasis on identifying the fundamental meaning and status of his concept of macrohistory in this evolution (process). At the same time, the internal inconsistency of this concept is substantiated, which is largely responsible for the dual nature of its perception and assessments in the mass media and professional academic discussions. The designated goal of the article is achieved through contextual interpretation and the solution of its several basic tasks. Among them: identifying and explaining the most important stages of the professional socialisation of Y. N. Harari, as well as determining the reasons behind his transition from medieval studies to macrohistory; identifying the thematic priorities of Y. N. Harari, special attention is paid to the topic of transformation of homo sapiens into homo deus; characterising the educational role of Y. N. Harari’s concept of macrohistory, in particular, the part of it that is associated with the popularisation of modern science and its futurological potential; carrying out a contextual analysis of Y. N. Harari’s idea about a new humanistic revolution, in the process of which classical ideas about humanism and liberalism must necessarily give way to techno-humanism and the data religion. The novelty of this article is determined by the following circumstances. Though there is extensive debate about the work of Y. N. Harari this article represents one of the first attempts to implement not only a historical, but also a philosophical and conceptual reconstruction of his main ideas set forth in the famous book trilogy. Simultaneously this is one of the first articles to make the analysis of Y. N. Harari’s concept of macrohistory the main focus point. This sets us apart from most of the publications devoted to Y. N. Harari, which are usually presented in the form of short and purely descriptive literary reviews. The article presents a new aspect to consider about the creative evolution of the Israeli historian – the interpretation of the causes and origins of the significant popularity of his ideas and main publications. These include the author’s deep understanding of the specifics of mass consciousness and the way its representatives perceive popular science texts. This subtle and adequate understanding largely explains the emotional figurative language, genre originality and literary style of Y. N. Harari. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:45:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d60ebbfe251b43c5b4c8d88d4cc5bcb6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2520-6338 2617-4006 |
| language | Belarusian |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:45:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Belarusian State University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Журнал Белорусского государственного университета: История |
| spelling | doaj.art-d60ebbfe251b43c5b4c8d88d4cc5bcb62022-12-22T02:55:43ZbelBelarusian State UniversityЖурнал Белорусского государственного университета: История2520-63382617-40062022-10-014152710.33581/2520-6338-2022-4-15-274786Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic statusAnatoliy I. Zelenkov0Yana A. Yahela1Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, BelarusBelarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, BelarusThe unprecedentedly high level of popularity of Y. N. Harari, а professor at the faculty of history of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and his main book trilogy, foreground the problem of interpreting and explaining the so-called Hararimania phenomenon, which has become a notable event in the academic community and popular culture of modern Western societies. The purpose of this article is the historical and philosophical reconstruction of the creative evolution of Y. N. Harari with an emphasis on identifying the fundamental meaning and status of his concept of macrohistory in this evolution (process). At the same time, the internal inconsistency of this concept is substantiated, which is largely responsible for the dual nature of its perception and assessments in the mass media and professional academic discussions. The designated goal of the article is achieved through contextual interpretation and the solution of its several basic tasks. Among them: identifying and explaining the most important stages of the professional socialisation of Y. N. Harari, as well as determining the reasons behind his transition from medieval studies to macrohistory; identifying the thematic priorities of Y. N. Harari, special attention is paid to the topic of transformation of homo sapiens into homo deus; characterising the educational role of Y. N. Harari’s concept of macrohistory, in particular, the part of it that is associated with the popularisation of modern science and its futurological potential; carrying out a contextual analysis of Y. N. Harari’s idea about a new humanistic revolution, in the process of which classical ideas about humanism and liberalism must necessarily give way to techno-humanism and the data religion. The novelty of this article is determined by the following circumstances. Though there is extensive debate about the work of Y. N. Harari this article represents one of the first attempts to implement not only a historical, but also a philosophical and conceptual reconstruction of his main ideas set forth in the famous book trilogy. Simultaneously this is one of the first articles to make the analysis of Y. N. Harari’s concept of macrohistory the main focus point. This sets us apart from most of the publications devoted to Y. N. Harari, which are usually presented in the form of short and purely descriptive literary reviews. The article presents a new aspect to consider about the creative evolution of the Israeli historian – the interpretation of the causes and origins of the significant popularity of his ideas and main publications. These include the author’s deep understanding of the specifics of mass consciousness and the way its representatives perceive popular science texts. This subtle and adequate understanding largely explains the emotional figurative language, genre originality and literary style of Y. N. Harari.https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/history/article/view/4786y. n. harari’s concept of macrohistorycivilisational dynamicsmyths and intersubjective realitytechnohumanismdata religionhumanist revolution and posthuman era |
| spellingShingle | Anatoliy I. Zelenkov Yana A. Yahela Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic status Журнал Белорусского государственного университета: История y. n. harari’s concept of macrohistory civilisational dynamics myths and intersubjective reality technohumanism data religion humanist revolution and posthuman era |
| title | Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic status |
| title_full | Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic status |
| title_fullStr | Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic status |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic status |
| title_short | Harari’s concept of macrohistory: origins of popularity and academic status |
| title_sort | harari s concept of macrohistory origins of popularity and academic status |
| topic | y. n. harari’s concept of macrohistory civilisational dynamics myths and intersubjective reality technohumanism data religion humanist revolution and posthuman era |
| url | https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/history/article/view/4786 |
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