New Thematic Focus on the History of Knowledge in the "Themenportal Europäische Geschichte"

The sources and essays presented in this thematic section illustrate the valuable insights that approaches from the history of knowledge can bring to European historiography. Drawing on selected source materials, Marian Hefter, Marie Nosper, Elisa Kewitsch, Erik Liebscher, Anna-Maria Hünnes, Annika Dörner, and Verena Bunkus – all affiliated with the graduate school “History of Knowledge” at the Gotha Research Campus – explore unconventional sites of knowledge in their essays, each based on their respective dissertation projects. A central focus is the city of Gotha between the 17th and 19th centuries, particularly knowledge sites such as the Gotha Court and the publishing house Justus Perthes. Other contributions examine the Saxon psychiatric institution “Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Sonnenstein”, an ethnological exhibition in London, and a photograph capturing a "summer journey" through Poland during the First World War. Although these essays adopt microhistorical approaches, they reveal the broader European dimensions embedded within the specific places and events they investigate. The thematic section is introduced by Iris Schröder, and additional contributions will be published in the future

The publications can be accessed online on the “Themenportal Europäische Geschichte” (https://www.europa.clio-online.de/tsp-wissensgeschichte).The portal is dedicated to European history from the 18th to the 20th century in all its diversity. It serves as a platform for current research, approaches and questions, which are presented for discussion using selected sources and essays.