Today, history is being written about much differently than used to be the case: more variedly, more vividly, more grippingly. In modern historical writing humans and their actions stand at the center of attention as well as their everyday life and their emotions. We learns about the many diverse experiences men and women have, and the symbolic forms they use to communicate with each other. Politics is considered an area of representation and power, economics as a marketplace for chances, and society as the attempt to establish cultural order. This volume collects contributions by renowned historians from the Humboldt University in Berlin, who show how they have come to think about and pursue historical matters. These studies stretch over many eras and give us an intellectually stimulating look at the diversity of modern historical thought.

Michael Wildt ist Professor für Deutsche Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert mit Schwerpunkt Zeit des Nationalsozialismus an der Humboldt Universität Berlin.