One of the original features of the C²DH, like the University of Luxembourg as a whole, is the international dimension of its research and the multicultural approach to academic study. The C²DH is keen to serve as a meeting place not only for advanced researchers but also for students who are setting out on their academic careers. In 2018, this philosophy led to the organisation of an interdisciplinary Summer School, an initiative launched by the University of Luxembourg (C²DH) and Tambov State University in Russia.
The first part of this interdisciplinary seminar, aimed at Bachelor students, took place from 2 to 6 October 2018 in Luxembourg; the second part was held in Tambov in spring 2019. “The participants, ten from our university and ten from Tambov, were given the task of analysing key events in Russian-Luxembourgish history,” explains Inna Ganschow, who coordinated the event jointly with Guido Lessing from the C²DH. The city of Tambov immediately calls to mind the prisoner-of-war camp where many Luxembourgers who were forced to enrol in the Wehrmacht were detained by the Soviet Union from 1943 to 1946. Russian emigration to Luxembourg was another focus of the first part of the seminar, which aimed not only to encourage the acquisition of new knowledge but also to foster scientific dialogue beyond political borders.
The mission of the “Digital History & Hermeneutics” Doctoral Training Unit (DTU) is to address the methodological and epistemological challenges raised by digital humanities. More specifically, the unit focuses on the critical and self-reflexive use of digital tools and technologies for research. The doctoral candidates, who specialise in a variety of disciplines, work on their own PhD projects while also benefiting from the methodological and epistemological activities carried out by the group as a whole. The DTU is a four-year interdisciplinary research and training programme funded by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).
“Docteuropa” is a tri-national doctoral school set up in 2017 by the Universities of Paris-Sorbonne, Saarland and Luxembourg. Each year, two three-day workshops are held, one in May and one in November, with the universities taking it in turns to organise the event. At each edition, three doctoral candidates, one from each university, present their research. “This is a great opportunity for the participants to obtain an external, critical perspective on their research to help them prepare for their official thesis defence,” explains PhD candidate Fabio Spirinelli, who was on the organising committee for the May 2018 edition in Luxembourg.
Another international Summer School for early-stage researchers was also held in 2018, this time to explore radio history from a cross-national perspective. The event was supported by funding from Luxembourg and the Saar as part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage. From 18 to 22 June, 26 participants gathered on Belval Campus to present their research on the history of radio broadcasting, a subject that is of particular relevance for digital humanities since radio was one of the most widespread cross-national media of the 20th century. “The Summer School was aimed at both doctoral candidates and post-docs, giving them the opportunity to compare their work with the research carried out by other historians,” explains Richard Legay, who coordinated this C²DH event. He adds that “there is a real need to create a network in this field, since not many research centres address this topic and researchers often finding themselves working in isolation.”
See also: PhD Theses
The C²DH’s “Contemporary History of Luxembourg” research unit has set itself the objective of studying questions with varying temporal, spatial and theoretical contexts, with the aim of producing new scientific knowledge about the phenomena and processes that have had a major impact on Luxembourg and whose comparative value goes beyond the national perspective: the history of the formation of the nation state, the history of the two world wars, periods of occupation and their legacy, antisemitism and the Holocaust, collaboration and resistance, attempts at authoritarianism, democratisation, the history of trade unions and the welfare state, the history of migration, and the history of societal and cultural transformations since the 1970s.
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The C²DH Public History Department has begun working on the compilation of an image database on Luxembourg’s industrial heritage.
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The world of finance, a “glocal” history field
The financialisation of the world economy during the 20th century is a relatively new topic in the discipline of historical research.
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Luxembourg, a land of migration
Luxembourg is and always has been a country characterised by migration, with waves of emigration in the 19th century and immigration since the early 20th century.
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The activities of the C²DH’s “Digital History” (DH) unit can be broken down into three overlapping categories: 1) research and development in digital methods; 2) university teaching for the Bachelor’s in European Cultures and the Master’s in European History, as well as in-house skills training; 3) outreach – disseminating research through public events and websites.
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