CHC Research
Historical culture, a definition
The term historical culture denotes the past-relationships of a community, articulated in a broad array of narratives, media, ideologies and attitudes. It brings together a number of scholarly and intellectual pursuits, such as the study of memory, the (un)making of identities, cultural and historical canons, the genres of history, the wider field of intellectual history, and studies of history education. It is also concerned with public history, such as entertainment, folklore, and other channels through which the general public digests historical information and processes history into everyday life. Accordingly, historians, both in and outside academe, are drawing on a broad range of source materials: texts, oral histories, rituals, traditions, arte-facts, statues, buildings, exhibitions, images, movies, comics and games.
The focus on narratives, memory and identity is central to a cultural transformation in historiography. It is by now acknowledged that the history of historiography comprises several circuits of authors and their readers, giving rise to multiple competing claims and assumptions, and to different discourses and styles it employs. Moreover, the awareness of the public usage of history and its political implications generate the blurring of boundaries between academic historiography and popular historical culture. Hence, although the classical canons have by no means disappeared, they are no longer seen as perennial standards, but rather as contested constructions, ever subject to critique and revision. Finally, the traditional division of the field into 'western' and 'non-western' history can no longer be taken for granted. Global history studies world-wide connections, trans-cultural encounters and conflicts, as well as the world-wide migration of people, arte-facts, and ideas, and the global circulation of notions and practices of status, 'race', ethnicity and gender. Historical culture probably still operates to a great extent within national frameworks, but local, trans-national and global settings are gaining ground. The re-examination of the spatial and temporal grounding of historical culture offers a promising and inspiring field of research.
For more information on international research in the field of historical culture and historiography, see Links and Research projects on our website.
CHC research program
The research aims at analyzing the transforming historical culture since the 17th century in relation to the formation of modern identities in a globalizing world. The program seeks to answer three questions:
1. What was the significance of the transforming historical culture for the construction, transmission, circulation and canonization of historical knowledge?
2. What were the effects of the transforming historical culture on the formation of personal and collective identities?
3. How does the transforming historical culture relate to historical consciousness in a globalizing world?
See for more information the CHC Research Program. An update will be published in the summer this year.
Former financed research projects at CHC
1. NWO: Paradoxes of De-Canonization. New Forms of Cultural Transmission in History; Maria Grever, Siep Stuurman and Kees Ribbens (2004-2006).
2. WRR / Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy: National Identity in Context; Maria Grever and Kees Ribbens (2005-2007). Read the book Nationale identiteit en meervoudig verleden.
Former visiting scholars
Fernando Sánchez Costa
Assistant Professor at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain)
I spent two Research Stays at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, in 2008 and 2010.
My experience was really good and fruitful in both cases. My first stay took place during the months of September and October of 2008. I participated in two seminars within the Master “History and Society”. The first seminar, “Historical culture and historical consciousness”, was organized by Professor Maria Grever. The second one, History of Equality, was organized by Professor Siep Stuurman. I remember perfectly that I was really impressed with the rigor and professionalism of both seminars. I learnt how to organize and how to work efficiently in a seminar group. I have put into practice in my classes in the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain), many things I learnt then. In the seminar lead by Prof. Maria Grever I improved a lot my knowledge about theory of history. The texts we read have been fundamental in the large conceptualization that opens my doctoral thesis about Public Memory in Barcelona during the Second Spanish Republic. In 2008, I was at the beginning of my phd research. I have finished it now, and I must say that my stays in Rotterdam and my link with the Center for Historical Culture have been decisive to get the best mark. I always felt very well received in the Center and my informal conversations with Prof. Grever and Robbert-Jan Adriaansen were really enlightening for my research. I thank them the theoretical and metodological orientations they gave me and the texts they facilitated me.
In September 2010, I spent another month in the Erasmus University and in the Center for Historical Culture. Prof. Grever gave me the opportunity to lead a seminar session about my research. As a fruit of this seminar, I have published recently the article "Street names, politics of memory and social debate in Republican Barcelona (1931-1936): A theorethical reflection and case study, Catalan Journal of Communication and Cultural Studies, n. 4 (1), 2012, pp. 3-19. I had the opportunity to spend a lot of hours in the library and during that month I wrote the theoretical framework of my thesis. For the things I learnt and for the treatment I received, I will be always grateful to professor Grever and the Center for Historical Culture of the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.
