070111 UE Readings in the History of Historiography (2023W)

Aims:

The course aims to help students to:
• attain an overview of the history of historiography;
• develop a feeling for what influences the writing of history, and consequently…
• …learn to critically read and handle historiographic texts.

Content:

To reach the named goals we will at first deal with what influences the work of historians – worldview, culture, psychology etc. Dealing with this we will also look at the difference and mutual influence between collective memory and history as a science. Together we will work out the questions we can and should ask from historiographic texts and their authors.
These questions will then guide us when we look at the different approaches to history and historical writing, in both a temporal and spatial manner. We will deal with different epochs of European historiography but will also have a look at the Islamic and Asian worlds and how they all influenced each other. Non-written/oral traditions and approaches to history will also be a topic.
Generally, the course has a broad temporal, spatial and thematic spectrum, we will, however, neglect some of the more recent developments of the 20th/21st centuries in order to pay more attention to non-European (Asia, Islamic world) perspectives. Furthermore, we will have a slight spatial specialisation in looking at the example of Burma/Myanmar.

Methods:

There will be weekly readings accompanied by short written assignments. The readings will then be discussed in the course. At the end of each class there will be a lecture as preparation of the next topic and reading/assignment. You can opt out of two of the weekly assignment.
Furthermore, there will be a focus assignment, in which students can choose one of five epochs/spaces on which to complete a larger assignment (roughly the equivalent of three single assignments).