Both the development of the press into a mass medium and the ubiquitous engagement with history represent two 19th-century processes that, albeit in very different ways and at different paces, characterized the entire European continent. As the first mass media and a part of popular culture, illustrated magazines provide insight into the significance of and engagement with history throughout the 19th century. They reflect the mentalities and attitudes of the newly emerging mass readership. Based on these magazines, it is possible to analyze contemporary interpretations, narratives, and images of history—that is, the historical culture and historical consciousness of the time.

The Siegen-based research project “History for All in 19th-Century European Magazines,” funded by the Geda Henkel Foundation, aims to make an initial contribution through this workshop to exploring this field of historical popularization in magazines, which has not yet been systematically investigated. Through case studies focusing on the teaching of history from both national and transnational perspectives, the workshop aims to illustrate the breadth of this Europe-wide phenomenon and to present and discuss approaches to its study.

All interested parties are cordially invited to attend the workshop. Participation is free of charge.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Source: Daniela Fleiß: Conference Report: “History for Everyone in 19th-Century European Journals” at the University of Siegen, December 13–15, 2012, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, Conference Reports, April 5, 2013, URL: http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/tagungsberichte/id=4744

Every society engages with history as part of its culture in a variety of ways. It is not only scholarly engagement or encounters in the context of school instruction, but especially the use and dissemination of history in popular media that have shaped the culture of history over the past two hundred years. Various successful forms of popularizing history—from television documentaries to specialized magazine formats, historical novels, and even video games—attest to the current interest in history and its presentation. The research project “History for All,” funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation at the University of Siegen, explores the roots of this phenomenon—which is by no means limited to the present day—by examining 19th-century European periodicals. The popularization of history is thus understood not only as a national but also as a transnational phenomenon that neither stopped at the borders of the nation-states emerging during that era nor was limited to Western or Central Europe. Instead, the research project seeks to identify overarching patterns of the phenomenon of the popularization of history, including by examining the European periphery.

The goal of the workshop held during the project’s first year—which brought together project researchers and external experts—was to gain initial answers to several central questions: How does the popularization of history generally take place? What significance did the popularization of history hold in the 19th century? What interactions exist between the media history of the 19th century and the history of the popularization of history? What transnational connections exist, and how should their significance be assessed?

The first part of the conference was devoted to the two overarching themes of the 19th-century media landscape and the popularization of history, and also addressed methodological questions regarding the connection between these two phenomena. Building on this foundation, the presenters in the subsequent sessions were able to draw on a synthesis of these two aspects, which they demonstrated in relation to various countries and regions of Europe. In his presentation, JÖRG REQUATE (Bielefeld) addressed the mutual interpenetration of media and society: Directly linked to the processes of change that society was undergoing during that era, the media spread ever more widely and permeated society with increasing intensity. This was reflected in a particular way by the new mass medium of newspapers and magazines. Requate highlighted as particularly significant for the conference’s central questions the fact that magazines, especially those in the tradition of moral weekly periodicals, espoused a didactic and educational mission. For them, history was therefore not merely an easily marketable subject but instructive content. These reflections were seamlessly followed by the remarks of CLEMENS ZIMMERMANN (Saarbrücken), who emphasized the ability and self-imposed mission of 19th-century magazines to combine instruction with entertainment. This dual orientation of the magazines should be taken into account and should not be dismissed as worthless or manipulative when the focus is on “recognized” scholarly work.

SYLVIA PALETSCHEK (Freiburg im Breisgau) focused on the second of the workshop’s two areas of investigation: history in popular media. She explained that history has been omnipresent in society over the past two hundred years as a response to rapid social change. The popular presentation of history today—just as in the 19th century, in the form of historical novels, historical panoramas, and historical paintings—continues to reach more people than the works of historians. Those who achieve commercial success with their popular depictions of history can shape powerful historical narratives that need not necessarily be scientifically grounded. Nevertheless, it is the task of historical scholarship to analyze these historical narratives as expressions of a society’s historical culture. The two co-organizers of the workshop, BÄRBEL KUHN (Siegen) and ANGELA SCHWARZ (Siegen), fulfilled precisely this mission by examining history in school textbooks and history in video games, respectively, in their presentations.

Bärbel Kuhn presented the textbook as the central medium for teaching history, since it is through textbooks that state-regulated historical knowledge is absorbed at a particularly formative age and within a specific context characterized by a certain degree of coercion. She therefore addressed the questions of what historical knowledge has been presented in school textbooks over the past three hundred years, what historical narratives have been conveyed, and what political intentions have been pursued. Kuhn noted that, in their evolution from a purely catechistic form to today’s textbooks, readers, and workbooks, schoolbooks have reflected the mindset of their respective societies and are therefore not beyond criticism. Angela Schwarz was also able to confirm the observation—which spans various media and eras—that the respective popular representations of history reflect the sensibilities of a society. She examined the mechanisms by which history is presented in video games and concluded that, in terms of narrative, three distinct patterns of historical representation can be identified: a vaguely sketched history, one reconstructed as accurately as possible, and one seemingly meticulously recreated. What generally remains of history after its transposition into the medium is “a framework of characters and facts.” History is not the central focus of video games but is instrumentalized in a positivist manner to make the games more interesting. However, questions about the historical context are raised among players, and the perspective of the protagonist—who shapes the plot—offers a different approach to the subject matter. As the commonalities between the use of history in video games and in 19th-century magazines—and —as might be added—virtually any popular use of history, Schwarz emphasized—in addition to specific strategies—that complex historical circumstances are adapted for a heterogeneous audience with varying levels of education and consumption habits and must hold their own in a commercial market.

The first session of the conference thus highlighted the significance of 19th-century magazines as vehicles for popularizing history, as well as the fascination with history as a topic in popular media and the task of historical scholarship to examine these connections in order to analyze the historical culture of the respective era. NINA REUSCH (Freiburg im Breisgau) then illustrated in her presentation on family magazines as sources of historical culture how this task for historical scholarship could be fulfilled by discussing the methodological approaches of her ongoing dissertation project. Drawing on magazine research from the Anglo-American sphere, Reusch advocated for a combination of historical and literary approaches, which she believed would provide a valuable broadening of the perspective on the source material. She argued that the ways in which history is used in magazines cannot be understood solely through the concept of historical culture, but are also manifestations of a specific literary and media culture. In addition, the speaker presented various ways of systematizing articles with historical content, for example, by topic, historical period, and geographical area, but also by text type, form of presentation, and approach. Finally, Nina Reusch addressed questions regarding the reception of historical content conveyed in magazines and drew particular attention to the difficulty that while one can work with the model of an ideal reader, individual behavior—and thus reading habits, which are not insignificant in terms of impact—cannot be reconstructed, meaning that a piece of the puzzle is missing.

With her presentation on the teaching of history and historical culture in Germany and France, Bärbel Kuhn opened the sessions that examined the phenomenon of history in magazines through the lens of various countries or regions, mostly from a comparative perspective. In her examination of historical culture in Germany and France, Kuhn noted that history education in both countries had played a central role in shaping individual and collective historical consciousness. In particular, the formation of national identity had been a focal point of history education in both countries. Furthermore, she noted that the focal points of both university and non-university historical research had proven decisive for the historical consciousness of each country. Subsequently, KLAUS HERBORN (Siegen), drawing on his specific study of history education in Germany and France using the Napoleonic Wars as an example, concluded that national history, as presented in periodicals, could not have been told without transnational references. Consequently, his case study provided ample evidence for the project’s central thesis regarding the existence and—as yet not thoroughly researched—impact of transnational interconnections in the presentation of history in popular media.

Angela Schwarz began her comparison of the popular representation of history in German and British magazines with an examination of the similarities and differences in historical culture between Great Britain and Germany. Building on a Europe-wide enthusiasm for history during the Romantic period—which emotionalized the subject as part of folk culture and ascribed it significance for one’s own identity—Schwarz noted that this common foundation had become differentiated, particularly through the discovery and invention of the nation and its history. Another difference lay in the primacy of professional historiography in Germany, whereas in Great Britain the shaping of historical culture was predominantly in the hands of amateurs. TOBIAS SCHEIDT (Siegen) then elaborated in his presentation on transnational connections in popular historical narratives in British and German magazines, identifying the conditions for strong substantive analogies in the use of historical themes. Based on the example Scheidt examined, these were primarily due to the use of British images in German magazines. Since the technology for appropriate illustration was lacking in Germany at the outset of this development, the images—which were originally intended for the British context—had to be placed in a new discursive context, for example by emphasizing a shared Germanic-Anglo-Saxon character of both nations. This highlighted that the paradigm of the national appropriation of history in popular magazines can certainly be questioned, and that questions regarding processes of appropriation and demarcation should be raised more frequently.

As a region located more on the periphery of the (Western) European cultural sphere, CLAUDIA KRAFT (Siegen) examined the example of divided Poland. The speaker emphasized the importance of transnational references, particularly for the popular engagement with history in this region. These were often used to contextualize and legitimize regional characteristics. CLARA FRYSZTACKA (Siegen) then illustrated how specifically Poland positioned itself as part of Europe through historical references in magazines. Drawing on popular historical narratives in magazines from 1905, the speaker noted that the primary function of history had been to interpret contemporary events that would otherwise have been perceived as confusing. In particular, references to the pan-European history of the 19th century enabled magazines in Poland—during the period of upheaval at the beginning of the 20th century—to present the present as a continuation of long-familiar processes.

Finally, the conference turned its attention to the popularization of history in Southern Europe. RAPHAELA AVERKORN (Siegen) provided an overview of history education and historical culture on the Iberian Peninsula, emphasizing the need for a detailed analysis of the development of the press landscape and the education system in 19th-century Spain. MARTINA PALLI (Siegen) then examined the portrayal of history in popular media in Italy, while Averkorn herself returned to the Spanish case in greater detail. Palli focused in particular on the teaching of history in Italian children’s magazines, highlighting their primary goal—following Italy’s unification as a nation—of instilling in future citizens the values of a united, modern nation through the cultivation of historical consciousness. Among these ideals was, in particular, love for the fatherland, which was illustrated by many examples from history that the new citizens were expected to emulate. References to themes from French history played a prominent role in this context.

In the concluding discussion of the conference, Angela Schwarz summarized the key areas of concern in the study of history mediation in 19th-century magazines as questions regarding the nature of the popularization of history, the different perspectives on popular history communication, and the feedback mechanisms between the popularization of history, society, and historical culture. She also emphasized the importance of the interplay between the content of historical narratives and the chosen genres and formats, as well as transnational transfers of themes and national master narratives.

Overall, the presentations and discussions at the workshop raised more questions than they answered, which was entirely in keeping with the nature of the event. This can only be beneficial for the underlying project. However, the work done so far already indicates that the follow-up conference planned for mid-2014 will be able to present interesting results from a more advanced analysis of the mass medium of the magazine in the European context.

Tim Bernshausen: Conference Report: “History for All in 19th-Century Magazines” at the University of Siegen, December 13–15, 2012, in: Conference Reports of the Association of Historical Research Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany e.V. (Ed.): AHF-Information, No. 032/13, Jan. 18, 2013, URL: http://www.ahf-muenchen.de/Tagungsberichte/Berichte/pdf/2013/032-13.pdf [Page offline since 2014]