The “Material Turn” in World and Global History

Abstract:This article charts the confluence and eventual overlap between two different fields: that of world/global history and that of material culture. At a basic level, world and global historians’ interest in “things” is the result of the fact that material artefacts—whether commodities, luxuries, scientific tools, ethnographic specimens or unique art objects—have been seen as mobile as than people. Yet, the so-called “material turn” in world/global history also raises a series of methodological and theoretical questions. I start with a historiographic overview to map the major currents and areas of global history affected by a “material turn.” Moving from a historiographical to a conceptual plane, the main body of this article is dedicated to showing how material culture might come to the assistance of world/global history. It provides a series of methodological and theoretical tools for historians to play with established narratives and to revise the conceptualization of connectivity—a key concept in global history. I conclude with some reflections on how a material approach might relate to recent forays into what is now called global microhistory, addressing issues of agency and the relationship between academic and public history.