Media history

On 18-22 June 2018, the C²DH hosted an international Summer School on Transnational Radio History, an event organised in collaboration with the Ministry for Culture in Saarland (Germany) and its Luxembourgish counterpart in the context of the European Year of Culture 2018. By mixing academic panels with hands-on workshops and sites visits, the event was the perfect opportunity for scholars from around the world to hold fascinating discussions on the topic of transnational radio history.

In the Hands-On History seminar on the 24th of May by Dr. Ludwig M. Vogl-Bienek and Karin Bienek from the University of Trier we were introduced to the history of the magic lantern. After a brief overview during the lecture, we got to experience a live performance of the magic lantern in our Digital History lab. We were also encouraged to experiment with some smaller but original magic lanterns.

Radio – like broadcasting in general – has always been quintessentially shaped by specific regions or nation states. Most radio services and channels, in fact, not only explicitly refer to a geolocation through their names, but also their remit is more often than not linked to a particular country, a region or a city. Whereas Hollywood cinema and other forms of media could be characterised by their global aspiration and appeal, radio seems rather limited in its impact beyond borders. Wherever we are from, little do we know about other countries’ or regions’ radio cultures.

The Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH) is delighted to announce a Summer School on Transnational Radio History, hosted by the University of Luxembourg / C²DH, and including two full-day excursions to the historic transmitter sites of Europe 1 (in Berus, Germany) and Radio Luxembourg (in Junglinster, Luxembourg). The Summer School is organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of Saarland / Germany and the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg in the context of the European Year of Culture 2018.

A new interdisciplinary research group composed of members of the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), the Institute for History at the University of Luxembourg and Saarland University will investigate transnational transfers of popular culture in Europe in the 1960s.

Une conférence/projection sonore de Grégory Cormann et Jeremy Hamers (Université de Liège) dans le cadre la série "Hands on History".

European research grant awarded for research into Europe's Audiovisual Heritage Online, coordinated by prof. dr. E. Müller, Utrecht University

On 19-24 August 2018 at Monte Verità, Switzerland, the Universities of Lausanne and Luxembourg, together with USI Università della Svizzera Italiana, are organising a Congressi Stefano Franscini (CSF) Summer Seminar entitled “Media history from the margins”.

Can video games be a serious research topic or are they only entertainment products? At the Gamescom Congress in Cologne, a series of talks and panel discussions were dedicated to video games from many different perspectives. In this blogpost, I will discuss some of them illustrating that video games can and should be taken seriously.

“Glanz und Elend der Kunstkopf-Stereophonie” – A radio play from Stefan Krebs, with Hans Peter Hallwachs as Kunstkopf; Stephan Wurfbaum as journalist and Andreas Fickers as media archaeologist; Research, script and mise-en-scène: Stefan Krebs; Sound: Christian Schimmöller; Producer: Werner Bleisteiner; Historical and technical advisors: Günther Hess and Stephan Peus. A production of the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History of the University of Luxembourg in cooperation with Bavarian Broadcasting and the EU-research project ORPHEUS, 2017.

Within the framework of the research project "Failure and Success of Dummy Head Stereo: An innovation history of 3D listening", Stefan Krebs and Andreas Fickers produced a binaural radio play about the history of binaural stereo.

The third ForumZ focused on the future of storytelling and explored how the emergence of the digital era affected the age-old art of telling tales.

In the course of the twentieth century, various generations have documented and materialized their family memories on film, video and digital media. But how have these changes in technologies of memory shaped new forms of recording and screening as family memory practices?

Members of the C²DH team assisted to the international seminar organised in Paris by the Media Commission of the FIAT/IFTA on Monday 20th March 2017 in collaboration with INA and EUscreen.

The virtual exhibition of the history of Radio Luxembourg / RTL is the result of a research seminar at the University of Luxembourg, curated by students of the Master in Contemporary European History under the supervision of Prof. Andreas Fickers.

'Staging the Amateur Film Dispositif' is a media archaeological experiment performed on March 31, 2014 at the 9th International Orphan Film Symposium at the EYE Film Institute Amsterdam. In three tableaux we explored how past media usages of film, video and digital media have altered the practices of home movie staging.