The MA thesis attempts to present a systematic analysis of the concept of rupture in relation to history. The first part develops the principles and criteria with which we can approach ruptures in history in a methodical manner. A rupture is defined as a significant change in a short period of time. The basic function of the term as it relates to history is the division of time into units that should be understood and analysed in specific ways, a task that every historian has to face. The main analytical tool that determines ruptures is comparison: phenomena can only be meaningfully designated as ruptures if they display a greater degree of discontinuity in comparison with other phenomena, thus not based on their inherent characteristics. The three essential dimensions of ruptures, as they are understood in this thesis, are qualitative change (similarities and differences in the inherent properties of phenomena that can be understood either in static terms or as changes through time), scope of influence (which includes spatial scope, influence on other phenomena and the level influence on people's lives, which can again be understood in static terms or as changes through time), and a short period of time (what constitutes a 'short' period can only be defined in relation to other units of time). In abstract, the best example of a rupture is defined as a phenomenon that displays the greatest degree of qualitative change within the highest number of the most significant segments of society, that has the largest scope of spatial influence and that has the most significant degree of influence on the lives of the greatest number of people. The best hypothetical example of a rupture would perhaps be a nuclear apocalypse, but the best examples of ruptures that actually occurred in history are in our view the Neolithic and Industrial revolutions. In the pursuit of a systematic use of the term, the concept of (non)comparable ruptures is proposed (which is designated on the basis of temporal, spatial and qualitative contexts and on the intensity or magnitude of phenomena). The nonessential properties of ruptures include people's perception of phenomena and the role of agency in history. The second part of the thesis, which is based on the principles developed in the first part, consists of an examination of sufficiently and insufficiently argued uses of the term rupture, an overview and an assessment of some of the main criteria that have been historically used for periodization (the part of historiography most directly related to ruptures), a delineation of the term rupture in history from similar terms (epistemological ruptures, revolutions and transformations), and an explanation and illustration of two types of ruptures, “initiator” and “catalyst”, which are based on the differences in essential dimensions of ruptures as defined above. By analysing ruptures from different points of view and in different contexts, we attempted to present a holistic analysis of the concept. In the appendix, we look at some aspects of historiography (shown through the Annales school) as they relate to and shape ruptures.
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