Temporal Practices in Historical Culture: Dealing with Controversial Monuments on the Basis of  the Lueger Monument in Vienna (working title)

This dissertation project focuses on the analysis of temporal practices in historical cultural when dealing with controversial monuments that serve as expressions of contemporary identity reflection. The central research question of the project is: What is the relationship between historical consciousness and temporal practices in historical culture of individual actors with regard to the Lueger Monument in Vienna, and how are these practices received?

In order to analyse this question theoretically, the research concept of historical culture will be used. Specifically, Holger Thünemann’s presented definition of historical culture¹ will guide the theoretical framework of this project. In his definition, Thünemann not only refers to Jörn Rüsen and Bernd Schönemann, but also takes the ‘plurality of times’² and practice-theoretical considerations of Pierre Bourdieu, as well as the concept of practice of Andreas Reckwitz into account.³ In accordance with this theoretical framework, the methodology follows a practice-theoretical approach. Since there have been no attempts in historical cultural studies to develop a method for analysing temporal practices in historical cultural,⁴ the aim of this dissertation is to develop such a method.

__________

¹ Cf. Holger Thünemann: Geschichtskultur in der Pluralität der Zeiten. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtsdidaktik 22 (2023), pp. 41–55, here p. 48.
² Ibid., S. 55.
³ Cf. Andreas Reckwitz: Grundelemente einer Theorie sozialer Praktiken. Eine sozialtheoretische Perspektive. In: Zeitschrift für Soziologie 32 (2003), pp. 282–301.
⁴ Cf. Sabrina Schmitz-Zerres: Zeitpraktiken des Geschichtsbewusstseins. Eine praxeologische Annäherung an die geschichtsdidaktische Fundamentalkategorie. In: Zeitschrift für Geschichtsdidaktik 18 (2019), pp. 131–147, here p. 140, ann. 70.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Holger Thünemann / Prof. Dr. Saskia Handro