Transnational history deals with historical dynamics of the 19th and 20th centuries that operate beyond, between, or above the nation state. Instead of limiting historical analyses to national spaces, it broadens the view to include interconnections and transfers between societies and communities. It analyses the movement of people, ideas, goods, and cultural practices between societies to understand how these interactions have shaped history.
A particular spatial focus of the chair's research and teaching is on the Baltic Sea region: Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and the German, Polish, and Russian coasts of the European inland sea are historically connected by the body of water. Two key areas of contact in the modern era that the chair places particular emphasis on are tourism and environmental history.
Furthermore, the chair also addresses the Baltic Sea region's connections to the rest of the world, as well as questions of experience and everyday history regarding societies under German occupation during World War II, issues of transnational civil society, and Europeanization from below. In addition to the transnational perspective, methodological diversity, openness to new topics and transdisciplinary approaches are characteristic of the chair's work.
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In the 20th century, Europeans faced each other in deadly enmity during two world wars, fueled by the idea of opposing national communities. And yet, from the 1950s onwards, people began visiting each other again in the context of tourist travel. Could reconciliation succeed in this way, below the official level of state acts? Or did historical enmity stand in the way of tourist encounters? Visiting Enemies? provides a wealth of information on these questions and furthermore gives examples of different types of travel in Eastern and Western Europe. The volume is bilingual, written in German and English.
forthcoming on May 29, 2026
ISBN: 978-3-447-12528-4