Johann P. Arnason, Civilizations In Dispute: Historical Questions and Theoretical Traditions, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2003 (original) (raw)

Johann P. Arnason's work critically engages with the notion of civilizations, moving beyond traditional sociological frameworks. By revisiting concepts from historical thinkers like Toynbee and Spengler, Arnason reconstructs the understanding of civilizations as dynamic, composite entities shaped by both universal and particularistic influences. The book emphasizes the need to contest monolithic views of civilizations and examines the complex interplay between traditions and modernity, suggesting that Western modernity, often seen as singular, is intertwined with a tapestry of global civilizational interactions.