Hauptseminar: Historians as Purveyors of Identity – transnational perspectives
Prof. Dr. Stefan Berger
14.00-16.00,
Dienstag
| Ort | GRA 2, Historische Bibliothek |
| Beginn | 18.10.2011 |
This seminar will investigate the role of historians as purveyors of identity discourses in Europe and beyond. Collective identities have been manifold, and the seminar will concentrate on discussing the contribution of history to forms of national, ethnic/racial, class and gender identities. It will also allow students to develop broad comparative perspectives on developments of identity-related historical discourses in different parts of the world. It will assess how far ideas of history as an integral part of collective identity discourses travelled from one place to the other; whether or not those ideas developed independently of each other; and how different ideas mobilised popular support in the name of diverse sets of collective identities. It will evaluate the relationship of collective identity discourses with exclusivist social and political practices, including diverse forms of collective violence. Finally it will ask whether the idea of historical writing as a means to bolster collective identity still has any place within the contemporary world or whether it is high time that historians sought to develop other understandings of their professional and societal roles.
Please note: It might be beneficial for students opting for this seminar to attend the lecture on ‘Historical Writing and National Identity: a Global Perspective’
Einführende Lektüre:
- Stefan Berger and Chris Lorenz (eds), Writing the Nation vol. 3: The Contested Nation – Ethnicity, Class, Religion and Gernder in National Histories, Palgrave MacMillan, Houndmills, 2008.
- François Gemenne and Susana Carvalho (eds), Nations and their Pasts. Representing the Past, Building the Future, Palgrave MacMillan, Houndsmills, 2009.
- Daniel Woolf (ed.), The Oxford History of Historical Writing, 6 volumes, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011/2012.