Abt. Geschichtswissenschaft

“Donald the Orange”: Vikings in and around the MAGA Movement by Tom Birkett – Article recommendation by Hannah von Legat

2026-08-10T08:01:01+02:00

“Donald the Orange”: Vikings in and around the MAGA Movement by Tom Birkett

How do historical figures become part of modern political movements? A thought-provoking example is “Donald the Orange”: Vikings in and around the MAGA Movement by Tom Birkett, the first open-access publication from the NorseMap Project (University College Cork), which explores how Norse and Viking imagery is used and reinterpreted in contemporary culture. The article examines the changing image of the Vikings in the United States and shows how Viking imagery, earlier used satirically, was soon adopted by parts of the MAGA movement and incorporated into a hypermasculine narrative of dominance and identity. It's a fascinating case study of how the past, in this example the Viking Age, is continually reimagined – and why historical symbols matter far beyond the history books.

Birkett, Tom: “Donald the Orange”: Vikings in and around the MAGA Movement, in: Studies in Medievalism XXXV: Medievalism in Theory & Politics, ed. Karl Fugelso, Cambridge 2026, 71-81.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week

Museums as Places of People, Time, and Memory. The Intersection of Place and History by Jitka Cirklová (ed., 2026) - Book recommendation by Anastasia Serikova

2026-08-03T08:18:52+02:00

Museums as Places of People, Time, and Memory. The Intersection of Place and History by Jitka Cirklová (ed., 2026)

This book explores how contemporary museums navigate social change and technological innovation to foster inclusivity and representation, offering insights into their evolving role as active spaces of dialogue, learning, and social change. Essays, collected in this edited volume, examine themes of place-based identity, community engagement, and the impact of digital transformation on museum practices. Case studies include house-museums, living museums, national memorials, industrial museums, mobile museum initiatives, and virtual heritage spaces in the Metaverse, offering insights into how institutions foster inclusivity, representation, and heritage preservation.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

(Counter-)Archive: Memorial Practices of the Soviet Underground by Klavdia Smola, Ilya Kukulin, Annelie Bachmaier (2024) - Book recommendation by Alexandra Kolesnik

2026-07-20T09:22:36+02:00

(Counter-)Archive: Memorial Practices of the Soviet Underground by Klavdia Smola, Ilya Kukulin and Annelie Bachmaier (2024)

This volume offers the first comprehensive study of archival and memorial practices within Soviet unofficial culture. It examines how artists, writers, and intellectuals of the Soviet underground created alternative forms of preserving works, memories, and cultural networks that remained excluded from official Soviet institutions. In conditions where much of this culture was denied public visibility or legitimacy, archiving itself became both a creative practice and a form of resistance. Bringing together perspectives from archival theory and memory studies, the book explores how unofficial cultural actors collected, documented, and transmitted “nonexistent” art and literature across private apartments, personal collections, samizdat networks, photographs, recordings, and informal communities. At the same time, these practices were deeply connected to broader intellectual and artistic developments of the late twentieth century, despite the relative isolation of Soviet underground circles. The volume asks how Soviet unofficial culture constructed—and contested—social memory through the preservation of marginalized, censored, and tabooed cultural experiences. In doing so, it reveals the Soviet underground not only as a space of artistic dissent, but also as a distinctive counter-archive that shaped the cultural afterlives of the late Soviet period.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Rethinking Populism" by Hans-Georg Betz (2026) - Book recommendation by Melis Konakçı

2026-07-13T08:02:32+02:00

"Rethinking Populism" by Hans-Georg Betz (2026)

In his new book, Rethinking Populism, prominent scholar of populism studies Hans-Georg Betz takes a retrospective look at the concept. Betz traces early manifestations from Boulangism in France and the People’s Party in the US to Juan Perón in Argentina to examine how classical populism differs from, and resembles, its modern counterparts. In the current manifestations Betz focuses on the populist strategies of “culture wars" and “the war against gender” populists aim to mobilize. Rethinking Populism provides an exceptional historical grounding not only for scholars of the subject, but for anyone seeking to understand the phenomenon of “populism”.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"East West Street" by Philippe Sands (2016) - Book recommendation by Josephine Herrmann

2026-07-06T10:15:52+02:00

"East West Street" by Philippe Sands (2016)

Philippe Sands’ East West Street is a gripping exploration of family history, legal history, and the violent upheavals of twentieth-century Europe. Beginning with an invitation to lecture in Lviv, Sands follows the traces of his grandfather Leon Buchholz and uncovers unexpected connections to Hersch Lauterpacht, Raphael Lemkin, and Hans Frank. In doing so, he reconstructs the origins of the concepts of crimes against humanity and genocide, and shows how closely the history of international law is bound up with individual lives, places, and memories. For readers interested in the Second World War, Galicia, Lviv, or the history of international law, this award-winning book is both intellectually illuminating and deeply moving

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Chances and Challenges" (BGHS) - Podcast recommendation by Kornelia Kończal

2026-06-29T07:42:27+02:00

Podcast "Chances and Challenges" (BGHS)

Chances and Challenges (made in Bielefeld) offers clear and refreshingly honest conversations about what it really means to pursue a PhD in Germany today. Bringing together doctoral researchers, postdocs, and senior scholars, the podcast addresses key issues such as supervision, academic precarity, international mobility, mental health and career paths beyond academia - always linking personal experiences to broader institutional contexts. The first episode stands out in particular for its lucid explanation of the specific features of the German academic system in international comparison, making it especially helpful for international doctoral researchers navigating unfamiliar academic structures. Concise, reflective, and highly accessible, Chances and Challenges is an excellent resource for early career researchers - and for anyone seeking a realistic picture of contemporary academic careers.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict (PSCHC) - Book series recommendation by Anastasia Serikova

2026-06-22T16:58:05+02:00

Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict (PSCHC)

This book series explores the relationship between the heritage and memory of war and conflict, contested heritage, competing memories in the past and the present. Since the publication of Dissonant Heritages and Memories in Contemporary Europe (2019) by Tuuli Lähdesmäki, Luisa Passerini, Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus, Iris van Huis and Landscapes of Difficult Heritage (2020) by Gustav Wollentz, the theoretical aspects of difficult heritage have been regularly touched upon by authors of this series. Recently published Mario Panico Spaces for Nostalgia. Difficult Memories and Material Consolations (2024) and Daniel Palacios González, José María Durán Medraño Redefining Monuments. Materialist Memory Theories and Radical Heritage Practices (2025) theorize difficult heritage through the notion of nostalgia and the materiality. The memory and heritage of the ongoing war also became visible in the series. Maria Kurbak's Destructive Imagination. Male Fantasies and the Emotional Roots of Russia’s War in Ukraine (2026) discusses the role of emotional heritage and the lived experiences of Russian combatants. Svitlana Biedarieva's Ambicoloniality and War. The Ukrainian-Russian Case (2024) proposes new terminology for the description of the particular colonial relationship between Ukraine and Russia.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

Solidarität mit Prof. Dr. Christina Brüning

2026-06-18T12:40:10+02:00

Der Profilbereich Geschichtskulturen ist über die Morddrohungen und menschenfeindlichen Haltungen gegen die Marburger Geschichtsdidaktikerin Prof. Dr. Christina Brüning, die in der letzten Woche medial öffentlich wurden, tief erschüttert. Wir sprechen ihr unsere volle Solidarität aus und verurteilen einen solchen Angriff auf die Wissenschaftsfreiheit aufs Schärfste. Der von der Konferenz für Geschichtsdidaktik veröffentlichten Erklärung schließen wir uns an.

Die Hessenschau berichtete am 11.06.26 über die Vorfälle.

Appropriating History: The Soviet Past in Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian Popular Culture by Matthias Schwartz and Nina Weller (2024) - Book recommendation by Alexandra Kolesnik

2026-06-15T08:06:54+02:00

Appropriating History: The Soviet Past in Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian Popular Culture (2024) by Matthias Schwartz and Nina Weller (eds.)

This edited volume explores how Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian popular culture reimagines and politicizes the Soviet past. Focusing on films, television series, literature, comics, and computer games, the contributors examine how popular media shape collective understandings of history and transform the memory of the twentieth century into narratives of identity, nostalgia, conflict, and power. The book demonstrates that references to the Soviet past are far from politically neutral. In contemporary popular culture, Soviet history can become a source of nostalgia and entertainment, but also a tool for nationalist mythmaking, neo-imperial imaginaries, and the legitimization of present-day political and military agendas. Through a series of case studies, the volume analyzes how cultural producers reinterpret historical events, heroes, and traumas for mass audiences in different post-Soviet contexts. By comparing Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian examples, the collection highlights both shared cultural legacies and increasingly divergent memory politics in Eastern Europe. It offers new perspectives on the complex relationship between popular culture, historical imagination, and political conflict in the region.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

Saga Brief 21 - Interpreting the Past: Modern Perceptions of the Viking Age - Podcast recommendation by Hannah von Legat

2026-06-08T07:52:42+02:00

Saga Brief 21 - Interpreting the Past: Modern Perceptions of the Viking Age with Verena Höfig and Zachary Melton

This episode of the (in general recommended) Saga Brief podcast offers a fascinating deep dive into how the Scandinavian medieval past is interpreted in the modern world, blending scholarship with timely cultural reflection. Together with Verena Höfig and Zachary Melton, it thoughtfully explores why Viking Age myths continue to fascinate today and how they are mobilized by contemporary religious and political movements. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the intersection of medieval studies, politics, and modern culture!

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

vASN: Populism and Nationalism: Allies or Rivals? - Webinar recommendation by Melis Konakçı

2026-06-01T08:35:48+02:00

vASN: Populism and Nationalism: Allies or Rivals?

Moderated by Zsuzsa Csergö, this webinar features presentations from prominent scholars Bart Bonikowski, Maria Snegovaya, and Cas Mudde on the relationship between populism and nationalism. Specifically, the presenters examine why radical right politics are on the rise today and why nationalism and populism often go hand in hand. The webinar also highlights the trajectory of nationalism and populism studies and the key questions that need to be addressed in the future. It is recommended for anyone interested in the intersection of populism and nationalism and how they reinforce each other.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Wörter im Krieg" / "Dictionary of War" by Ostap Slyvynsky (2023) – Book recommendation by Josephine Herrmann

2026-05-18T12:57:22+02:00

"Wörter im Krieg" / "Dictionary of War" by Ostap Slyvynsky (2023)

Ostap Slyvynsky is a Ukrainian poet, translator, essayist, and literature professor. His book Wörter im Krieg gathers short testimonies, fragments of conversations, and memories from people living through Russia’s war against Ukraine. First written in 2022, the book has since been translated into several languages, allowing these voices to reach readers far beyond Ukraine. What makes Wörter im Krieg so powerful is its quiet intensity. The texts are often brief and restrained, yet they open up deeply personal experiences of fear, loss, displacement, care, and survival. Many of the stories seem almost timeless: rather than relying on visible markers of the twenty-first century, they show how war strips everyday life down to something raw and fundamental. Slyvynsky gathers these stories with great sensitivity to the way violence changes language itself. Words become fragile, unbearable, necessary, or newly charged with meaning. Wörter im Krieg is a difficult and deeply moving book, but also a profoundly humane one. It does not allow readers in Germany to imagine that they can fully understand the experience of war — but it asks them to listen carefully, attentively, and without turning away.

Event recommendation: Slyvynsky will be presenting his book at the Stadtbibliothek Bielefeld this evening. Welcome!

"Russian Cultural Policy in the Midst of War: Strategies and Actors" by Tatiana Romashko, Olga Zabalueva (2025) – article recommendation by Anastasia Serikova

2026-05-11T07:56:18+02:00

"Russian Cultural Policy in the Midst of War: Strategies and Actors" by Tatiana Romashko, Olga Zabalueva (2025)

This paper investigates developments in Russian cultural policy following the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It analyses shifts in cultural legislation and official discourse on culture within the context of war, using the cases of the Historical Parks Project and the Cultural Front of Russia. The authors argue that these projects exemplify both top-down and bottom-up dynamics of empowerment within the wartime patriotic framework. Despite differing leadership structures, they share significant similarities in their methods and ideological alignment with Russia’s authoritarian regime. The article draws on an analysis of official discourses in the Russian Parliament’s and Presidential Administration’s official Telegram channels and media coverage of their activities.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

“Das Gedächtnis der Töchter” by Irene Langemann (2023) - Novel recommendation by Kornelia Kończal

2026-05-04T09:43:09+02:00

“Das Gedächtnis der Töchter” (2023) by Irene Langemann

Irene Langemann, born in 1959 in Issilkul (Siberia), grew up bilingually in a German family. At the age of seventeen, she moved to Moscow to study acting and German literature, and went on to work as an author, actress, and presenter. In 1990, she emigrated to Germany. She has since lived in Cologne, where she works as an author and director for film and television. “Das Gedächtnis der Töchter” is her first novel – a compelling, autobiographically inspired, and beautifully crafted chronicle of a Mennonite family in Eastern Europe spanning six generations. At the same time, it offers a profound exploration of Ukrainian-German, Russian-German, and Soviet-German relations from the late nineteenth century onward, tracing the history of violence in the twentieth century and the enduring complexities of Stalinism. It is a book that at times demands pauses for breath, yet proves impossible to put down.

"Perverse Decolonisation?" edited by Ekaterina Degot, David Riff, and Jan Sowa (2021) - Book recommendation by Alexandra Kolesnik

2026-04-27T08:20:10+02:00

"Perverse Decolonisation?" edited by Ekaterina Degot, David Riff, and Jan Sowa (2021) - Book recommendation by Alexandra Kolesnik

The volume offers a compelling reflection on a central paradox of our time: while the language of decolonization has become increasingly visible in public discourse, it is also being appropriated by authoritarian and exclusionary regimes. Rather than leading to emancipation, decolonial rhetoric is often redirected toward new forms of nationalism, cultural essentialism, and political control. The concept of “perverse decolonization” captures this ambivalence, highlighting how emancipatory vocabularies can be instrumentalized from above, while also remaining open to tactical and critical reinterpretations from below. Bringing together essays, discussions, and artistic perspectives developed across multiple international contexts, the book provides a nuanced and self-reflexive framework for understanding how decolonization operates—and is contested—within today’s global cultural landscape.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Populism and the Growth of the Radical Right in the Nordic countries" by Anders Widfeldt – Article recommendation by Hannah von Legat

2026-04-20T07:39:56+02:00

"Populism and the Growth of the Radical Right in the Nordic countries" by Anders Widfeldt – Article recommendation by Hannah von Legat

If you’re looking for a clear and concise introduction to the rise of right-wing populism in Northern Europe, I highly recommend the overview article by Anders Widfeldt (available in English and Danish). It outlines the long history of the Scandinavian populist parties and explains how they combine anti-establishment and anti-immigration positions with support for welfare politics. Using Cas Mudde’s concept of the “Populist Radical Right,” the piece also shows why these movements are likely to remain relevant—making it a useful starting point for understanding Nordic politics today.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Steppenkinder. Der Aussiedlerpodcast" by Ira Peter and Edwin Warkentin (2020-2024) - Podcast recommendation by Kornelia Kończal

2026-04-13T15:14:55+02:00

"Steppenkinder. Der Aussiedlerpodcast" by Ira Peter and Edwin Warkentin

Hosted by journalist and author Ira Peter and Edwin Warkentin, Cultural Advisor for Russian Germans in Germany, the podcast brings together voices from the “brought-along generation” of Germans from the East—those who migrated to Germany from the former Soviet Union as children or adolescents with their families in the late 20th century. Spanning 45 episodes, it explores a wide range of topics and perspectives, offering nuanced insights into entangled history, migration, memory and belonging. Although the project has unfortunately concluded, its episodes remain a rich and inspiring archive.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

Anke Pinkert’s "Remembering 1989: Future Archives of Public Protest" (2024) - Book recommendation by Kornelia Kończal

2026-03-30T11:38:38+02:00

Remembering 1989: Future Archives of Public Protest by Anke Pinkert (2024)

Anke Pinkert offers a strikingly original reinterpretation of the events commonly referred to as the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR. Rather than presenting 1989 as a linear narrative of socialism’s collapse and the triumph of neoliberalism, she reimagines it as a moment of radical openness, civic courage, and democratic experimentation – a fleeting yet powerful promise of alternative futures. Through her counter-archival approach, Pinkert invites us to reconsider how political ruptures are remembered and to reflect on what might still be recovered from their unfinished promises.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"wikinger-toplak.de" by Matthias Toplak - Blog recommendation by Hannah von Legat

2026-03-23T09:10:57+01:00

wikinger-toplak.de by Matthias Toplak

Everything related to Vikings, archaeology, and the Viking Museum Hedeby is brought together on the blog by Dr. Matthias Toplak (archaeologist, head of Viking Museum Hedeby). Here you will find articles on topics such as the ‘Viking diet’, TV-documentation or book recommendations, and the latest news on Viking age excavations. The short articles are both entertaining and well-researched. Perfect for anyone who wants to stay up to date with the Viking Age and current research.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

“Antiosteuropäischer Rassismus in Deutschland. Geschichte und Gegenwart” by Jannis Panagiotidis und Hans-Christian Petersen (2024) - Book recommendation by Kornelia Kończal

2026-03-16T06:11:30+01:00

“Antiosteuropäischer Rassismus in Deutschland. Geschichte und Gegenwart“ by Jannis Panagiotidis and Hans-Christian Petersen (2024)

Both the scholarly and public debates about racism in Germany require an eastern enlargement — this is the central claim advanced by Panagiotidis and Petersen in their thought-provoking overview of the past and present of German racism directed at Eastern Europeans. Admittedly, readers familiar with historical research on German stereotypes of Eastern Europeans (for example, the trope of polnische Wirtschaft), the history of East European Studies in Germany, German anti-Slavism, or migration from Eastern Europe will encounter relatively little that is empirically new. The value of the book lies instead in its deliberate shift of perspective towards what Philomena Essed has termed “hierarchies of worthiness”, that is, the differentiated and often implicit gradations through which Others from the East are positioned within German society. By foregrounding Eastern Europeans within this framework, the authors challenge the dominant focus on other axes of racialisation and make visible forms of discrimination that are frequently normalised or rendered invisible. In doing so, the book not only expands the scope of racism research but also invites a reconsideration of how race, migration, and belonging are conceptualised in the German context more broadly.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Historische Beratung Toplak" by Matthias Toplak - YouTube Channel Recommendation by Hannah von Legat

2026-03-09T10:45:55+01:00

"Historische Beratung Toplak" YouTube Channel by Matthias Toplak

Horned helms and wild warriors? Myths and imaginations of the Vikings and the Viking Age are everywhere, but not always true. The YouTube channel by archaeologist Dr. Matthias Toplak (head of Viking Museum Hedeby, Schleswig) discusses and deconstructs fifteen popular myths in an entertaining but thoroughly research-based way.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Die übersehene Nation" (2025) by Martin Schulze Wessel - Book Recommendation by Josephine Herrmann

2026-03-02T10:34:45+01:00

"Die übersehene Nation" (2025) by Martin Schulze Wessel

Martin Schulze Wessel’s "Die übersehene Nation. Deutschland und die Ukraine seit dem 19. Jahrhundert" offers an accessible entry point for readers who want to approach Ukrainian history from a perspective other than seeing it as merely an extension of Russian history. Tracing German–Ukrainian relations from the late nineteenth century to the present, the book highlights a long and asymmetrical relationship shaped by political interests, shifting perceptions, and persistent blind spots in German historical culture. Schulze Wessel presents Ukraine as an active historical actor while also addressing Germany’s responsibility in shaping the current situation. Clearly written and analytically sharp, this study is highly recommended for anyone seeking a nuanced understanding of Ukrainian history and the historical depth of German–Ukrainian entanglements.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

Webinar Series of the Initiative for Democratic Science (DemWiss) - Webinar Recommendation by Kornelia Kończal

2026-02-23T09:20:07+01:00

Webinar Series of the Initiative for Democratic Science (DemWiss)

January–February 2026: The Initiative for Democratic Science (DemWiss) launched a new webinar series bringing together researchers from various fields to discuss current challenges to academic freedom, democratic knowledge production, and the social responsibility of academia. The series provides a forum for critical reflection on the political, institutional, and ethical conditions of research and teaching today. Participation is open upon registration.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Ottoman History Podcast" - Podcast Recommendation by Melis Konakçı

2026-02-16T09:33:45+01:00

Ottoman History Podcast

Focusing on the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East, Ottoman History Podcast—with 580 episodes—is an exceptionally rich resource for anyone interested in the region. Drawing on multiple disciplines, the podcast explores both macrohistory and microhistory, hosting a broad range of academics with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. The podcast features episodes in both English and Turkish, making it ideal for anyone who wants to delve deeply into the region’s history.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.

"Ringvorlesung Wissenschaftsfreiheit" from Universität Hamburg - Lecture Series Recommendation from Hannah von Legat

2026-02-09T14:03:43+01:00

Ringvorlesung Wissenschaftsfreiheit

The ongoing public lecture series explores the growing pressure on academic freedom from an international perspective (WS 2025/26). Organized by the Faculty of Humanities of Hamburg University, it discusses political interferences in academic research and teaching – from funding cuts and legal restrictions to public attacks on scholars. Bringing together cases from the United States, Europe, and beyond, the series sheds light on how universities navigate the tension between academic freedom and political engagement. A thought-provoking contribution for anyone interested in the current challenges of free research and teaching.

More Ideas & Insights recommendations could be reached at our Public History Unit webpage every week.