1

I found it in Crash Course World History. It is at around 1minute and 44 second. Here is the context:

Another change in psychology: many historians of the now note that globalization has also led to a celebration of individualism.

I have checked a few dictionaries, and I could not find any example where the noun now was used with the definite article. Could you pleasd tell me why the host used it. Does the bear any additional meaning in the sentence?

2
  • Note that, logically, it's nonsensical to study the present from a historical perspective . . . Jun 19, 2018 at 19:21
  • Maybe the narrator thought that this cute phrasing would avoid a misunderstanding, that "many historians of the present" means "many currently working historians."
    – Chaim
    Feb 15, 2021 at 5:15

1 Answer 1

1

One day I'll have to watch this 'crash course' & how he seems to torture the language ... but not today -

"of the now" is an idiom simply meaning "now" or "at present", "currently", "in this day & age", colloquially "these days".

2

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .