070336 KU Practice of Scientific Communication (2019S)

The general topic for this course about ‘Praxis der wiss. Komunikation’ in Global History will be ‘Origins and history of Capitalism 2.0’. While the question of the characteristics and origins of capitalism is a classic issue of historiography, since the 1990s, it had all but vanished from debates and curricula. With the onset of economic crisis in 2008, however, it experienced a remarkable revival, leading to numerous new publications and intense debates. Now, ten years later, it is a good moment to take stock of this new ‘history of capitalism’ studies and to relate it both to earlier debates and the current concerns in global history as well as wider society. What is a scientific debate and how does it work in the field of global history?

This course will have three main objectives: 1.) Familiarize students with the main coordinates of the ‘origins and history of capitalism’ debates since the 19th century. 2.) Gain a thorough understanding of the more recent debates on the subject, especially in view of global historical approaches. 3.) Gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of a scholarly debate, its platforms, genres, and stakes.

Note: this course will only start 3rd April and will partly be held in blocked form.
The blocked session (Blocktermin) will be: Saturday, 15th June 2019, 10:00 – 13:00 and 14:00–17:00. Place to be announced soon.

This course, thus, presupposes the availability and willingness for an intensive work schedule from April to June.
The idea of the course is to provide students with some basic working skills needed for the research of a historical topic in a global framework with a special emphasis on scholarly modes of communication. To this end, the course syllabus will offer participants further training in basic working skills, such as search and critical assessment of secondary sources, ability to draft an abstract and bibliography, or writing in different genres. In addition, this class will pay special attention to understanding the dynamics of scholarly debates and their societal stakes as well as the forms it takes in an environment increasingly characterised by online communication. To this end, students will trace the discussions through scholarly journals and conferences, other academic events, online publications, blogs, etc., as well as interventions vis-à-vis a broader public. Finally, students will prepare or “re-enact” a small in which they will present different positions in the debate.