The Department of History takes pride in its historiographical, linguistic, and cultural diversity. We focus primarily on the history of Europe within a global context from the late medieval period to the present. We take a broad approach to the study of history that includes social and economic analysis as well as the history of cultural, scientific, and intellectual developments.
Our work analyses the tensions, contradictions, continuities and sharp breaks that characterise both Europe’s past and the study of that past, with a view to shedding light on present questions and chart possible futures.
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Research Themes
We study Europe in the world as a complex political and economic structure and a social and cultural fabric that has experienced moments of integration and disintegration. This broad perspective on Europe includes transregional and international interactions, institution building, and Europe’s self-representations. We also emphasize the critical re-evaluation of national historiographies and their contextualization in the history of Europe.
The current political, economic, and environmental challenges invite us to study the interconnected character of our world, its evolution, and the changing place of Europe in it. We investigate power relations in colonial and postcolonial societies, economic and trade relations, labour, migration, and infrastructure, as well as material culture and diplomacy. We seek to overcome Eurocentric views and to cooperate whenever possible with colleagues from the Global South.
We study intellectual history and cultural history broadly understood, from political ideologies to religious beliefs and scientific doctrines. We are interested in representations but also cultural practices and artefacts, with particular attention to their circulation within Europe and between Europe and other parts of the world. In the field of history of science and medicine, we emphasise the importance of studying scientific theories and approaches together with their material expression and their local interpretations.
The Department considers gender a powerful tool of analysis that allows historians to uncover central dimensions of human experience by studying the normative assumptions that inform economic, political, and social structures and behaviours. The history of sexuality and emotions as well as the history of health and disability are key aspects of the Department’s research profile. We encourage researchers to embrace an intersectional perspective to analyse how notions of health, class, ethnicity, sexuality, and age co-produce societies.
The Department promotes methodological diversity and dialogue between different historical approaches. We actively engage with digital history and public history and encourage dialogue with the research carried out in the other EUI departments (Economics, Political and Social Sciences, and Law), as well as with anthropology, the arts, cultural and media studies, environmental humanities, and other fields of interest.