I revolutionens skugga

Ett historiskt och kulturellt forskningsproblem

Abstract

Historical research has since the 1960s used social theory and concepts. The complexity of history has to be organized to see problems that earlier historians have not seen. In a longer perspective, as been stated by the English historian Peter Burke, it is possible to distinguish four different approaches that originate in social theory. They are the comparative method, models and types, quantitative methods and micro history. A problem for historians is that most social theories are modern. In most cases they developed during the 19th and 20th century, and the question is if they can be used for older periods, that is, are they general enough and not bound to time and space. In this article I argue that social concepts as social network, community and ethnicity can be well integrated in an analysis of the Lutheran minority in Paris during the French revolution.