Workshop – Reflect Yourself!?

On July 13 and 14, 2023, the workshop titled “Reflect yourself!? Potentiale und Grenzen einer kritisch-reflexiven Public History” (“Reflect Yourself!? Potentials and Limits of a Critical-Reflective Public History”) will take place at the University of Erfurt. Exploring the research field of public history and its potential for (self)reflection in historical scholarship, both established scholars, junior researchers and students come together to discuss the topic in regard to their daily work and historical research.  Part of the organizing team is our research assistant Meike Katzek.

Both researchers and practitioners will be invited to share and discuss ideas, thoughts and experiences from their work contexts. Where and how does the concept of (self-)reflection get caught up in daily research and work, and what follows from reflection? Does reflection on one’s own point of view occur more as a contingent moment or is it structurally anchored? How does an internalized critical attitude express itself? Is it a silent companion or is it constantly under discussion and called into question? Or does it sometimes even appear to be an obstacle to the work process? These are questions that also challenge junior researchers of the research group in their work and whose perspective on voluntariness as a major topic of the present will contribute to the discussion at the workshop.

The thematic scope e.g. touches upon the question of ‘Who speaks?’, ambivalent solidarities, thoughts on (self)reflexive hermeneutics, positionality and participatory practices in museums, motion comics as work on memory, public history from the perspective of a sociology of inequality as well as citizen science as reflexive practice. The program will be complemented by a special guided tour at the ‘Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte Andreasstraße‘ and by the keynote address ” Hinter den Spiegeln: 15 Jahre universitäre Public History in Deutschland” by Christine Gundermann (Professorship f. Public History, University of Cologne) at the Coelicum in Erfurt (Domstraße 10, 99084 Erfurt).