Come a long way: The global historian’s craft, twenty years on

Abstract

Abstract Twenty years after the founding of the Journal of Global History , this anniversary article takes stock of global history: its trajectory, its markers of disciplinary maturity, its political sense of purpose, and the difficulties and limits of the enterprise. Concerns after 2016 that global history might lose its relevance in a changing political climate have, thus far, not been borne out. By many measures, global history is both a flourishing field and an influential sensibility. Its enduring contribution, this article argues, lies in how it has helped, and continues to help, bring about a fuller, more accurate, and more complete understanding of the ever-incomplete ‘selection of facts’ that constitutes history, our humble truth. Twenty years on, global historians know their field’s limitations but also its value. They know that they have brought the world into history—and that this is no small thing.