Primary reading
Jonsson, A (2012), The industrial revolution in the Anthropocene, The Journal of Modern History, 84 pp679-696
Discussion questions
- Outline Mokyr’s case as to why the industrial revolution took place where and when it did.
[see section II] - What common aspects link the critical responses to Mokyr’s view by Berg, O’Brien and Parthasarathi?
[see section IV] - How does Allen’s case as to why the industrial revolution took place contradict Mokyr’s perspective? To what extent is Allen’s position supported by Wrigley?
[see section V, VI] - How does Wrigley’s concept of ‘ghost acres’ relate to the idea of the Anthropocene and current concerns with climate change?
[see section VI, VII]
Background reading
Allen, RC (2009), The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective, Cambridge: CUP
Allen, RC (2014), Technology, in Floud, R, Humphries, J and Johnson, J (eds), The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain vol 1 1700-1870, Cambridge: CUP (pp292-320)
Crafts, N (2010), Explaining the first industrial revolution: Two views, Department of Economics, University of Warwick, CAGE Online Working Paper Series, No. 10, July
Mokyr, J (2009), The Enlightened Economy, London: Penguin books
Mokyr, J (2014), An Age of Progress, in Floud, R, Humphries, J and Johnson, J (eds), The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain vol 1 1700-1870, Cambridge: CUP (pp264-291)