Historiography and Politics: Re-Assessing a Contested Relationship in a Diversifying Discipline

Forum weltoffene Geschichtswissenschaft – Historical Scholarship in Pluralistic Societies
Auftaktveranstaltung – Opening Event
26. Mai 2021
18:00-19:30, online per BBB

Introduction to the Series
Frank Wolff (Osnabrück University/Bard College Berlin)

Followed by the main event

Historiography and Politics: Re-Assessing a Contested Relationship in a Diversifying Discipline
Roundtable with Julie Weise (University of Oregon) and Kijan Espahangizi (ETH & University of Zurich) in conversation with Christoph Rass (Osnabrück University)

Historical questions develop based on both historical evidence and the historians’ changing perspective on society and relevance. This duality carries a tension which has inspired historiographical innovation as well as theoretical dispute since the discipline’s inception. At this round table event we will discuss how historical scholarship is conditioned by the rapidly changing social and political landscape, how it responds and possibly contributes to it. Instead of generalizing, our guests will reflect on these processes from their scholarly angle and assess how politics, engagement and historical scholarship are positioned in today’s pluralistic societies.

The participants are

Kijan Espahangizi is a German-Iranian-Swiss historian at the University of Zurich and managing director of the Center „History of Knowledge“ (ETH & University of Zurich). Dr. Espahangizi teaches migration history and is about to finish a book on the relation of knowledge production and politics of migration in Switzerland since the 1960s. He has also co-founded the independent post-migrant think & act tank INES – Institut Neue Schweiz, with many related appearances in the Swiss media. Since 2021 he is a member of the expert commission of the Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia.

Julie M. Weise is Associate Professor of History at the University of Oregon and author of Corazón de Dixie: Mexicanos in the U.S. South since 1910, which won the Merle Curti Award for the best book in U.S. social history from the Organization of American Historians, among other honors. In addition, Dr. Weise is co-producer of a podcast about Southern Latino history, Nuestro South. She has written articles for the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post and has been interviewed by news outlets including Univision.com and NPR.

Christoph Rass is Professor for Modern History and Historical Migration Research at Osnabrück University and a board member of the IMIS.

Frank Wolff is Privatdozent for Modern and Contemporary History at Osnabrück University and a board member of the IMIS. Momentarily he is also a visiting lecturer and research associate on Racism and Antisemitism Studies at Bard College Berlin.

Join our discussion!

Members of Osnabrück University can register for the series and join each session through StudIP. External guest are welcome and can participate in the event with their real name by following this link. As for other online events, the netiquette of Osnabrück University applies.


OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Frank Wolff (20. Mai 2021). Historiography and Politics: Re-Assessing a Contested Relationship in a Diversifying Discipline. NGHM@UOS. Abgerufen am 23. April 2025 von https://doi.org/10.58079/sbxj


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