Press release: 50th “Deutscher Historikertag” 2014 at the University of Göttingen
Nr. 77/2013 - 30.05.2013
Specialist congress with more than 3,000 participants on the theme of “Winners and losers”
(pug) From September 23 to 26, 2014, over 3,000 scholars, teachers and students will convene at the University of Göttingen for the 50th Biannual Meeting of the German Historical Association. This congress is one of the largest humanities conferences in Europe. The theme of this jubilee event is “Winners and losers”. The partner country for the Historikertag is Great Britain, with which Lower Saxony and the University of Göttingen have traditionally had close connections: the Georg August University was named after its founder, the British King George II. The Lower Saxony State Exhibition 2014 “Hanover‘s Rulers on the British Throne 1714 to 1837” also makes reference to this.
Talking about winners and losers has been a core element in how we interpret historical events since ancient times. Our picture of winners and losers is thus stamped by contests such as sporting competitions, democratic elections and conflicts, at the end of which the victor and the vanquished face one another. But historical processes such as the creation and collapse of nations, opening up trade routes or colonial expansion also have winners and losers – although under some circumstances these only emerge as such during historical investigation and when history delivers its verdict. In this respect, the rhetoric of winners and losers is always ingrained in certain perspectives and aligned with the actors' self-image. Assumptions about what “game” is actually being played and expectations with regard to future developments also help to determine who we regard as the winner and the loser.
Held every two years, the “Deutscher Historikertag” traditionally takes a closer look at the full breadth of epochs and themes covered by historical science. It functions as both a window to and forum for current historical research. At the same time, it is a major social event at which German historical science, the city and University of Göttingen and the Land of Lower Saxony can present themselves to a wide public. Further information on the 50th “Deutscher Historikertag” 2014 is available online at www.historikerverband.de and and shortly also at www.historikertag.de.
Contact:
Benjamin Bühring
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Organisationsbüro 50. Deutscher Historikertag Göttingen 2014
Heinrich-Düker-Weg 14, 37073 Göttingen
Phone +49 551 39-21283
Email: benjamin.buehring@phil.uni-goettingen.de
Dr Nora Hilgert
Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands e.V.
c/o Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Grüneburgplatz 1, 60323 Frankfurt
Phone +49 69 798-32571
Email: geschaeftsstelle@historikerverband.de