The Betty Behrens Seminar on Classics of Historiography

Thu 16 February 2023 - Thu 9 March 2023

Clare Hall

This seminar series will endeavour to underline the importance of the classics of historiography for their relevant intellectual function in creating critical political thought.

A classic is recognised as such insofar as it retains its value as an intellectual and cognitive tool, helping us to gain an understanding of the past as well as the present from a particular cultural viewpoint. Classics still have the capacity to resonate and speak to us about current problems. They produce perspectives that are implicitly comparative and dynamic, thanks to the historical dimension passing through both them and us. These considerations are even more relevant when we speak about the classics of historiography because the same historical dimension is present on several more levels. These classics challenge us to contemplate some historical problems, which are only fully understood when properly contextualised. In the same way, even the classic itself can fruitfully produce its own intellectually provocative value only when it is read through the eyes of the present but interpreted with a historicist approach.

Cost: Free