For a history of energy

Energy is a rich concept that can analyze much of the evolution of societies over time. Whether it be the means of production, forms of consumption, or periods of tension or scarcity, the quest for energy prompted humanity to go further in its search for new resources, to ceaselessly innovate,…

This historiographical essay shows how historians have dealt with energy since the beginning of the 20^th c. and until today. During the two first third of the 20^th c., only a handful of authors have tried to give an overview of humans made use of the energy…

This paper argues that historians and their disciplinary practices can enhance the analysis of energy transitions by non-historians. It explains how energy economists and policy analysts have only recently taken account of historical experience and how energy studies have become more inter- and…

The historical approach of energies consumers is based on several questions on the conceptual frameworks. In the dailylife anthropology framework, energy consumption disappears behind the use of the artefacts and becomes an infra-consumption. The category of « energy » itself presumes an…