In one of the most emblematic and widely quoted passages in his writings, Bahá’u’lláh promises: “Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.” Elsewhere he predicts an immediate future of “convulsions and chaos,” because “the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective.” These evocative statements, which stand at the core of Bahá’u’lláh’s worldview and teachings, have prompted generations of readers to reflect on the nature of the “order” that existed during his lifetime and of the “convulsions and chaos” that he said were “immanent,” and to try to catch glimpses of, and work to foster, the “new” order he foresaw. As central as such considerations are to the conceptual and practical life of the Bahá’í community—indeed, as foundational as historical consciousness, more often referred to as “progressive revelation,” is to Bahá’í belief—how familiar are contemporary Bahá’ís with discourses in history and related fields about world orders and the emergence of international law and human rights? What kind of framework do they have for understanding the dramatic changes that have occurred in virtually every domain of life since the late 19th century and their relationship with the Bahá’í Faith, and how do they communicate these ideas with professional scholars and the general public? And for American Bahá’ís in particular, can clearer historical thinking empower more purposeful individual and collective action during a period of national crisis?
Responding to the invitation of Derik Smith in his seminal article, “Centering the ‘Pupil of the Eye’: Blackness, Modernity, and the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh,” Journal of Bahá’í Studies 29, no. 1-2 (2019), this presentation will briefly outline a framework for understanding contemporary U.S. and global history, including the present “time of troubles” of the post-World War 2 Washington-led world order. Based on the work of a number of contemporary scholars, including Anne Applebaum, Howard French, Nicole Hannah-Jones, Alfred McCoy, Heather Cox Richardson, and Timothy Snyder, it seeks ways to operationalize Bahá’u’lláh’s approach to historical change for the present moment, while avoiding a Bahá’í version of what Snyder calls the “politics of inevitability.”
Louis Venters is professor of history at Frances Marion University. He is a scholar of African diaspora history, southern U.S. history, and public history. His research and practice focus on the histories of race, religion, and social change in the United States; issues of equity and sustainability in rural and urban planning; heritage tourism, historical memory, and the intersection of cultural and environmental stewardship; and the empowerment of young people and historically disadvantaged communities.
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