Mission
The HiND´s overarching goal is to develop a set of instruments applicable within historical and cultural studies of ethnic, confessional and linguistic diversity in the age of nationalism. National diversity is thereby being understood as a value-neutral historical fact that should be viewed neither from an idealized nor from a problematizing perspective. HiND thus addresses a topic of major importance for today´s European societies from a historical perspective by exploring the centuries-long ubiquity of national diversity, which is not merely a result of the migration movements of the last few decades.
Research on national diversity/National diversity research is a meta-topic, a perspective for studying society. Accordingly, it can be carried out within various scholarly disciplines and on a variety of topics. The firm anchoring in the humanities, the basic historical orientation and the spatial focus on Europe outline the profile of our research group, from which we would like to enter into a fruitful interdisciplinary and global dialog.
HiND´s objects of study are societies affected by national diversity at the local, regional and state levels, as well as their relations to international and transnational institutions. Such research can be undertaken from a wide range of approaches in political, social, economic, intellectual and cultural history. HiND does not specify specific research topics, but rather offers researchers the opportunity to sharpen the awareness of the presence of ethnic, confessional and linguistic diversity within European societies, without pursuing a normative or judgmental approach. Possible thematic focuses include:
- Conceptual history of national diversity
- Political and normative handling with national diversity
- National diversity and political ideologies
- Multilingualism and cultural hybridity
- Nexus of religious and ethno-linguistic diversity
- Social, economic and cultural hierarchies
- National diversity and war/violence
- Lebenswelt of national diversity
- National diversity and gender
- International protection of minorities
- National diversity and migration (internal migrations and immigration)
- Empire and nation-state
- Minorization and securitization
- Acculturation, homogenisation and elimination of national diversity