Thursday, May 14, 2009

Deep history

Jeremy Black introduced the idea of Deep History to the discussion of the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683 which was the subject of In Our Time today

Deep history has profound effects on a country or society, somehow informs actions & reactions to events & policies over the centuries. Last week’s In Our Time topic- Magna Carta – works like that for this country. The medieval relationship between the Hapsburg & Ottoman Empires informs the way Austrians react to the proposed extension of EU membership to Turkey in a way that Brits just cannot fully understand

And the idea must surely be related to the idea of national Cultural stereotypes