How Early? How Modern? Reflections on the Global Early Modern (Part 1)

This Introduction reflects on the editors’ shared impression that in recent years, scholarship in the “early modern” field has remained insightful and archivally rich but reluctant to engage with large conceptual, methodological, and historiographical questions. The term “early modern” has lost precise meaning and deserves greater scrutiny. The authors featured in this special issue approach the conundrum of the meaning of “early modernity” in their own fields and in their own ways. What should the term “early modern” stand for? What has it stood for in the past? Is it inherently Eurocentric? Can we identify different meanings and explore their potential for future scholarship? Might different takes on the “early modern” be compatible with each other, or do we anticipate competition? Are there various “early modernities?” This Introduction explains the rationale for this special issue, highlights the particular focus of each contributing author, and invites further contributions to the re-emerging debate on “early modernity”.