080019 UE B320 UE Historical methods: Doing reasearch with auto/biographical papers (2018W)

The course will be held in German. Description of the contents in English:

There are generally certain ideas about what "self-testimonies" (Selbstzeugnisse) are. Everyone has personal pictures of it in their heads or even their own experiences with it. The aim of the course is to provide an overview of how self-reports can be researched as scientific sources.
To this end, the diversity of the different formats of self-portrayal and self-documentation is defined. In concrete terms, (1) written forms such as diaries, letters or memoirs, (2) photographs and albums, (3) so-called 'home videos' and (4) oral history interviews will be dealt with. On the basis of concrete examples, the possibilities of their scientific evaluation are discussed. The aim is to find out which historical and cultural scientific questions could be posed to self-reports and where possible limits could also lie.
On the other hand, it must also be clarified where self-testimony sources (outside of private contexts) can be found? One possibility are editions of self-certificates, which are available as books or on the Internet. Another possibility are originals that are provided in archives or collections. Various such collection facilities (in Vienna) will be presented. Excursions are used to jointly determine which materials are currently available here and how research in the respective institution works.