Enlightenment

What is the Enlightenment? A period rich with debates on the nature of man, truth and the place of God, with the international circulation of ideas, people and gold. But did the Enlightenment mean the same for men and women, for rich and poor, for Europeans and non-Europeans? In this fourth edition of her acclaimed book, Dorinda Outram addresses these and other questions about the Enlightenment and its place at the foundation of modernity. Studied as a global phenomenon, Outram sets the period against broader social changes, touching on how historical interpretations of the Enlightenment continue to transform in response to contemporary socio-economic trends. Supported by a wide-ranging selection of documents online, this new edition provides an up-to-date overview of the main themes of the period and benefits from an expanded treatment of political economy and imperialism, making it essential reading for students of eighteenth-century history and philosophy.

'This new edition of Outram's successful synthesis on the Enlightenment has been enriched by a new chapter on the political economy. A long way led from the 'nervus rerum', via mercantilism and cameralism, to the ideas of Adam Smith. In the wider context of colonialism, slavery, trade and science, an excellent summary of the main themes of the Enlightenment has just become even more useful.' Karin Friedrich, University of Aberdeen, 'Outram's The Enlightenment has proved its lasting value as a stunningly well-informed introduction to the period, attentive to current concerns - especially about gender and race - and ranging across numerous disciplines, to which this edition adds the Enlightenment's new social science of political economy.' Ritchie Robertson, University of Oxford, 'Happy quarter-century to Outram's The Enlightenment. Still the indispensable one-volume introduction to eighteenth-century currents of thought and academic debate on them, this updated edition continues to surprise with its ease of manner and scope of knowledge. For students and scholars alike, Outram has always read something we've missed.' James Smith, Royal Holloway, University of London

Dorinda Outram is Clark Professor Emerita of History at the University of Rochester, New York. Her previous publications include Georges Cuvier: Vocation, Science and Authority in Post-Revolutionary France (1982), Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives: Women in Science, 1789–1979 (1988) and The Body and the French Revolution: Sex, Class and Political Culture (1989).