Journeys of the Mind: A Life in History

Peter Brown's "Journeys of the Mind" explores the "neglected half-millennium" of late antiquity, which was crucial to the development of modern Europe and the Middle East. He recounts his life and work, discussing his efforts to recapture the spirit of an age and the discovery of previously overlooked areas of religious and cultural creativity. Brown also offers insights into his interactions with scholars and colleagues and offers fascinating snapshots of far-flung places.

Format: Unspecified
Length: 736 pages
Publication date: 06 June 2023
Publisher: Princeton University Press

The end of the ancient world was long regarded by historians as a time of decadence, decline, and fall. In his career-long engagement with this era, the widely acclaimed and pathbreaking historian Peter Brown has shown, however, that the "neglected half-millennium" now known as late antiquity was in fact crucial to the development of modern Europe and the Middle East. In Journeys of the Mind, Brown recounts his life and work, describing his efforts to recapture the spirit of an age. As he and other scholars opened up the history of the classical world in its last centuries to the wider world of Eurasia and northern Africa, they discovered previously overlooked areas of religious and cultural creativity as well as foundational institution-building. A respect for diversity and outreach to the non-European world, relatively recent concerns in other fields, have been a matter of course for decades among the leading scholars of late antiquity.

Documenting both his own intellectual development and the emergence of a new and influential field of study, Brown describes his childhood and education in Ireland, his university and academic training in England, and his extensive travels, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. He discusses fruitful interactions with the work of scholars and colleagues that include the British anthropologist Mary Douglas and the French theorist Michel Foucault, and offers fascinating snapshots of such far-flung places as colonial Sudan, midcentury Oxford, and prerevolutionary Iran. With Journeys of the Mind, Brown offers an essential account of the "grand endeavor" to reimagine a decisive moment in human history.

Brown's journey into the study of late antiquity began in his early years in Ireland, where he was captivated by the rich history and culture of the region. He pursued his education at the University of Oxford, where he studied ancient history and philosophy, and later at the University of Cambridge, where he specialized in the study of early Christianity.

During his academic career, Brown traveled extensively, visiting many of the places that were central to the history of late antiquity. He spent time in Egypt, where he studied the ancient Egyptian religion and culture, and in Greece, where he explored the ruins of ancient Athens and the Mediterranean coast.

In addition to his academic work, Brown was also involved in public discourse and advocacy. He was a vocal critic of the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan, and he advocated for a more nuanced and empathetic approach to the Middle East.

Journeys of the Mind is a personal and revealing account of Brown's life and work. It offers a glimpse into the mind of one of the world's most influential historians and provides a valuable insight into the development of late antiquity and its impact on modern Europe and the Middle East.

In conclusion, Peter Brown's Journeys of the Mind is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of late antiquity and the development of modern Europe and the Middle East. Brown's insights and perspectives are invaluable, and his account of his life and work is both personal and revealing. This book offers a valuable contribution to our understanding of human history and the complex forces that have shaped our world.

Weight: 1204g
Dimension: 165 x 243 x 50 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691242286