How to write history? – Meeting of Young Historians IX (Košice, 16-17 October 2019)

Regarding the changes in historiography, Georg Iggers in his book Historiography in the Twentieth Century: From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern Challenge wrote that the concept of truth, and with it the duty of the historian to avoid falsification and to reveal thoughts, remains a firm part of the historiographic practice. As he adds, a professionally trained historian must continue to work critically with the sources, as it is the only way how to achieve a historical reality. (Iggers, 1997). The above words do not necessarily apply only to the field of historiography, but also directly address the theoretical-methodological questions of the historian’s research or ethics. Today’s historical science is not satisfied only with a positive and descriptive approach. The conceptualization and definition of the theoretical and methodological origins have gradually become an elementary precondition for historical research. Slovak historical science has experienced a specific development. Until 1989 it was dominated by a significant selectivity of the themes with the domain of chosen aspects of political and economic history. Nowadays, one of the most recent challenges is the theme of theoretical and methodological approaches to historical research. In today’s and current discourse, the issue of the ethics of the historian’s work, whether we are talking about work with primary or secondary sources, comes to the fore. Sufficient theoretical and methodological preparation of historians associated with the correct treatment of the sources should guarantee an objective interpretation of history.

 

The conference of the Department of History of the Faculty of Arts of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University – Meeting of Young Historians IX- will also be devoted to the problems mentioned above. As an incoming generation of historians, we would like to open the question of “how to write history today” and to share our experience. The organizers of the conference are therefore pleased to welcome contributions whose aim is to answer the following questions:

 

– Why and how to choose appropriate approaches to study specific research topics? Does the chosen method affect results of the research? How do the methodological procedures vary according to the period studied by the historian? To what extent is the current historian informed in the theoretical-methodological spectrum?

 

– What role does cooperation with other science disciplines play in historian’s work? Is it possible to write history without going beyond historical research into other disciplines? Is the interdisciplinary approach the key to historical science to continue to exist?

 

– How to perceive the role of historian in the society? How does the historian work with sources? Why is the question of ethics of the historian’s work so important? How to prevent the misuse of sources? Can it be discovered?

 

– What influences the process of writing the history and what limitations do historians struggle with in this process? What sense does the historian’s work have for the society?

 

Application deadline: 16 June 2019

Paper submission deadline: 31 August 2019

Lenght of contribution: 15 normpages, more information will be sent to invited participants

Conference languages: Slovak, Czech, English

Conference fee: 20€

Venue: Rectorate Building UPJŠ, Šrobárova 2, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia

Application available at: https://www.upjs.sk/en/faculty-of-arts/department-of-history/9569/

Contact: smh@gmail.com, katarina.hromulakova@gmail.com

 

https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/termine-39712

 

 

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