Conceptual History and Historical Semantics did not start with Reinhart Koselleck. There were several, albeit today almost forgotten, forerunners, and one of them, perhaps the most inspiring, was the German-Jewish historian Richard Koebner (1885-1958). The three major points of the talk's argument are: First, Koebner’s historical semantics were part of a specifically German 'linguistic turn' avant la lettre in the first half of the 20th century, the product of a self-critical historicization of ‘historism’.
Secondly, this was linked to a reflection on the concept of time and the significant role of chronopolitics in modern history, which Koebner called 'the ideology of Zeitwende' (i.e. turning-points in history). Finally, Koebner’s semantic method and his historiographical theory were a form of de-mythicizing Begriffsarbeit. Namely, Koebner defined the historian’s role within society as a 'scholarly persona' with a 're-problematizing stance'.
Light lunch will be served. The event is open for all.
About Peter Tietze
Peter Tietze is Senior lecturer at the Department of Culture and Aesthetics at Stockholm University.