The Idea of Alpine History
I’ve been a professional historian since 1995, but I’ve been a climber for much longer. This blog is meant to bring those two worlds together. It will use the history of mountaineering as a way of thinking about the bigger histories of mountain places and people.
At the moment, mountaineering history breaks into two distinct traditions.
On one side, we have climbing histories written by climbers themselves. Climbers have the inside experience that allows them to talk about mountains in ways that most scholars can’t.
On the other side, we have a growing academic literature. Unlike climbing literature, the scholarly work is peer-reviewed, and it typically offers the sort of historical context that adventure stories lack.
But we need more places where these two different ways of talking about mountains come together.
In this blog, I’m going to try to build a few bridges.
admin @ January 26, 2010
Excellent idea, Kerwin. Discussions about history of the sport need a suitable haven. You are the man!
Thank you Kerwin. Please keep it going, I’ll keep reading.
davi.
Your work is great! I have been a real history fan for many years and like to see connections.
http://www.amborncpa.com
Hello,
I`m from Europe (Romania). By years I`m studying alpine history in my own country, which is a strange and interesting mix between mountaineering and politics – in communism times.
I am not historian – just as amateur, but my studies are close enough to the subject – sociology.
I`m glad to find some other persons involved in similar subjects.
best,
Marian Anghel