While Modern Europe was once the largest field of historical study, the discipline’s global turn rebalanced the distribution of field specializations. Was this a “decline of the west, or a rise of the rest?,” Robert B. Townsend, writing for the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History pondered in 2011.[1] Beyond data on PhDs awarded and jobs posted in various fields, methodological debates have further questioned the value of studying modern and contemporary Europe. In recent years, the AHA has advocated for greater attention to early-modern topics. These developments demand answers to questions about the future of the field and its value. Additionally, they ask: is modern Europe – a diverse region of empires, states, economies, and societies – a singular subject of study? How can it be historicized in the wake of the global turn and in light of efforts to decolonize the discipline and provincialize Europe and its history? What can studying modern and contemporary European history offer scholarship and the wider public? This roundtable brings together scholars of both modern European and global history to discuss the challenges, approaches, and importance of studying Europe and its relation to other historical fields. It invites a broad audience of European and global historians – and scholars interested in historical methodologies – to join the conversation.

[1] https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/september-2011/decline-of-the-west-or-the-rise-of-the-rest