Aron Gurevich
Encyclopedia
Aron Yakovlevich Gurevich (also spelled Aaron Gurevich, , May 12, 1924, Moscow
– August 5, 2006, Moscow) was a Russia
n medievalist historian, working on the European culture of the Middle Ages
.
Gurevich's work was informed by Jacques Le Goff
and Georges Duby
, and he considered himself a member of their Annales School
. He was also influenced by ideas of Mikhail Bakhtin
, challenging some of them at the same time. Gurevich's work was considered anti-Marxist
and met with hostility in the Soviet Union
, but enjoyed support abroad among the Annales School, although he was not allowed to travel abroad before Perestroika
.
.. In 1950 after defending his dissertation Peasantry of South-Eastern England during the pre-Norman period he became a Candidate of Sciences and a lecturer of Kalinin
State Pedagogical Institute (now Tver State University). In 1962 Gurevich received a Doktor nauk
degree at Leningrad University. His doctoral thesis was Overview of Norway's social history in IX–XII centuries. It was the first doctoral thesis in Soviet Union completely dedicated to Viking
history .
Aron Gurevich returned to Kalinin and became a professor in 1963 .
In 1966 Gurevich joined Moscow Institute of Philosophy, but he was fired in 1969 after publishing Problems in the Origins of Feudalism in Western Europe, where he contested the theory on origins of feudalism
adopted in Marxist historiography
.
Until 1992 Aron Gurevich was working at the Institute of the Common History in Moscow.
In 1989 during Perestroika
Gurevich was allowed to exit the country for the first time, and he lectured abroad in 1989–1991.
In 1993 he became a head of the Institute of the World History at the Moscow State University.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
– August 5, 2006, Moscow) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n medievalist historian, working on the European culture of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
Gurevich's work was informed by Jacques Le Goff
Jacques Le Goff
Jacques Le Goff is a prolific French historian specializing in the Middle Ages, particularly the 12th and 13th centuries....
and Georges Duby
Georges Duby
Georges Duby was a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages...
, and he considered himself a member of their Annales School
Annales School
The Annales School is a group of historians associated with a style of historiography developed by French historians in the 20th century. It is named after its scholarly journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale, which remains the main source of scholarship, along with many books and...
. He was also influenced by ideas of Mikhail Bakhtin
Mikhail Bakhtin
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin was a Russian philosopher, literary critic, semiotician and scholar who worked on literary theory, ethics, and the philosophy of language...
, challenging some of them at the same time. Gurevich's work was considered anti-Marxist
Marxist historiography
Marxist or historical materialist historiography is a school of historiography influenced by Marxism. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography are the centrality of social class and economic constraints in determining historical outcomes....
and met with hostility in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, but enjoyed support abroad among the Annales School, although he was not allowed to travel abroad before Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
.
Biography
Aron Gurevich was born in Moscow on May 12, 1924 to a secular Jewish family. In 1946 he graduated from the Moscow State UniversityMoscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
.. In 1950 after defending his dissertation Peasantry of South-Eastern England during the pre-Norman period he became a Candidate of Sciences and a lecturer of Kalinin
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
State Pedagogical Institute (now Tver State University). In 1962 Gurevich received a Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk is a higher doctoral degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. Sometimes referred to as Dr. Hab. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D....
degree at Leningrad University. His doctoral thesis was Overview of Norway's social history in IX–XII centuries. It was the first doctoral thesis in Soviet Union completely dedicated to Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
history .
Aron Gurevich returned to Kalinin and became a professor in 1963 .
In 1966 Gurevich joined Moscow Institute of Philosophy, but he was fired in 1969 after publishing Problems in the Origins of Feudalism in Western Europe, where he contested the theory on origins of feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
adopted in Marxist historiography
Marxist historiography
Marxist or historical materialist historiography is a school of historiography influenced by Marxism. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography are the centrality of social class and economic constraints in determining historical outcomes....
.
Until 1992 Aron Gurevich was working at the Institute of the Common History in Moscow.
In 1989 during Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
Gurevich was allowed to exit the country for the first time, and he lectured abroad in 1989–1991.
In 1993 he became a head of the Institute of the World History at the Moscow State University.
Publications
- Gurevich A. J. Categories of Medieval culture. Trans. by G. L. Campbell. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985. ISBN 0710095783
- Gurevich, Aron. Medieval Popular Culture: Problems of Belief and Perception. Trans. by János M. Bak & Paul A. Hollingsworth. Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1990. ISBN 0521386586
-
- Bornstein, Daniel. Review of Medieval Popular Culture: Problems of Belief and Perception by Aron Gurevich; János M. Bak; Paul A. Hollingsworth. Church History, Vol. 59, No. 2 (Jun., 1990), pp. 234–235.
- Van Engen, John. Review of Medieval Popular Culture: Problems of Belief and Perception by Aron Gurevich. Journal of Social HistoryJournal of Social HistoryThe Journal of Social History, was founded in 1967 and has been edited since then by Peter Stearns. The journal covers social history in all regions and time periods. Articles frequently combine sociohistorical analysis between Latin America, Africa, Asia, Russia, Western Europe and the United...
, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 164–167. - Madigan, Kevin. Review of Medieval Popular Culture: Problems of Belief and Perception by Aron Gurevich; Janos M. Bak; Paul A. Hollingsworth. The Journal of ReligionThe Journal of ReligionThe Journal of Religion is an academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press founded in 1882 as The American Journal of Theology. The journal "embraces all areas of theology as well as other types of religious studies ."...
, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Apr., 1990), pp. 254–255.- Gurevich, Aaron. Historical Anthropology of the Middle Ages. Ed. by J. Howlett. Chicago: University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, 1992. ISBN 0226310833
- Gurevich, Aaron. Historical Anthropology of the Middle Ages. Ed. by J. Howlett. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
- Carruthers, Mary J. Review of Historical Anthropology of the Middle Ages by Aaron Gurevich; Jana Howlett. The American Historical Review, Vol. 98, No. 4 (Oct., 1993), pp. 1220.
- Wylie, Jonathan. Review of Historical Anthropology of the Middle Ages by Aaron Gurevich. EthnohistoryEthnohistory (journal)Ethnohistory is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1954 and published quarterly by Duke University Press on behalf of the American Society for Ethnohistory. It publishes articles and reviews in the fields of ethnohistory, historical anthropology and social and cultural history...
, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Spring, 1994), pp. 331–333.- Gurevich, Aaron. The Origins of European Individualism. Trans. by K. Judelson. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995. ISBN ISBN 0631179631
External links
- Mazour-Matusevich, Yelena & Svetlana Neretina (2006). Obituary: Aaron Jakovlevich Gurevich. The Medieval History Journal 9 (2), v–viii.
- Mazour-Matusevich, Yelena (2005). Writing Medieval History: An Interview with Aaron Gurevich. Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 35 (1), 121–157.
- Le Goff, Jacques (2004). Saluting Aron Gurevich. The Medieval History Journal 7 (2), 163–167.
- Mazour-Matusevich, Yelena & Sean Bledsoe (2004). On Concepts, History and Autobiography: An Interview with Aron Gurevich. The Medieval History Journal 7 (2), 169–197.