CISH 2026
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Historiography in the International Arena: The CISH and the Making of Twentieth-Century Historical Knowledge

  • Date

    IV. Thursday, 27.08.2026, 14:30-16:30

  • Location
    House 1 T 1002
  • Theme
    A- The Comité International des Sciences Historiques 1926-2026
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Abstract

How did the study of history become an international enterprise in the twentieth century? This panel examines the role of the International Committee for Historical Sciences (CISH) in the formation, negotiation and transformation of historical knowledge during the interwar and Cold War periods. Focusing on pivotal moments of international engagement, from the 1933 Congress in Warsaw to the reshaping of scholarly exchange post-1945, the panel will explore how historians navigated and leveraged emerging international structures to influence national and transnational historiographies. Particular attention is given to the CISH's role as a platform for intellectual cooperation, as well as a space marked by geopolitical tensions, asymmetries and competing visions of historical scholarship. Bringing together perspectives from Eastern Europe, Ireland and France, the panel highlights the various ways in which historians engaged with international institutions, whether as participants in transnational exchanges, strategic actors seeking to promote national traditions or contributors to the development of a global yet uneven historiographical landscape. In doing so, it sheds light on the historical foundations of today's international historiography, raising questions about its current structures and future trajectories.

Panelists

  • Katja Castryck-Naumann (Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO))
  • Neasa MacErlean (Journalist)
  • Vincent Heimendinger (ENS Paris Saclay)

Papers

  • World History at a Crossroads: The Warsaw Congress of 1933

    Katja Castryck-Naumann

  • Ireland: How the CISH and World War II changed the study of history

    Neasa MacErlean

  • French Historians on the World Stage: The Role of the CISH in the Internationalization of French Historical Sciences (1926–1970)

    Vincent Heimendinger