Book Re iew
Ma in Lücke and I mga d Zündo .2018.Ein üh ung in die
Public His o y. Gö ingen: Vandenhoeck & Rup ech . 208
pages. ISBN 978-3-8252-4909-0.
Re iewed by Co d A endes, Heidelbe g Uni e si y, Heidelbe g,
Ge many, E-mail: [email p o ec ed].de
h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/iph-2022-2033
In he las 10 yea s o so, he signi icance o public his o y
has g own angibly wo ldwide. In Ge many, i has suc-
cess ully es ablished i sel as a new ield, bo h wi hin he
discipline o his o y p ope and in hose a eas whe e his-
o y in e sec s wi h neighbo ing disciplines in he a s and
humani ies. No hing be e highligh s public his o y’s
success in ecen yea s han he c ea ion o new p o-
esso ships and mas e ’s p og ams. The p ecise de ini ion
o he ield and o i s objec s o in es iga ion, how i should
be in eg a ed in o he uni e si y sys em, and e e yday
(wo king) me hods con inue o di e signi ican ly among
he a ious na ional highe educa ion sys ems, despi e a
numbe o simila i ies. This pa h dependence o public
his o y bo h a ec s he con en s o (mas e ’s) cou ses and
p og ams and is e lec ed in he way ha basic ex books,
s udy books, and handbooks a e concei ed.
I is he e o e no su p ising ha he book we a e
conce ned wi h he e, Ein üh ung in die Public His o y
[In oduc ion o Public His o y] by Ma in Lücke und
I mga d Zündo has a i le ha is no only e y gene al,
bu also, in he Ge man con ex in which i was w i en,
bo h adi ional and unmis akable. The ex comp ises
six chap e s. As he in oduc ion explains (10–11), he
au ho ship o he a ious chap e s was di ided up: Ma in
Lückewas esponsible o hesecond and ou h chap e s,
I mga d Zündo o he fi h and six h. The fi s and hi d
chap e s we e a collabo a ion be ween bo h au ho s. The
di ision o labo is wo h men ioning because i e eals
animpo an aspec o hede elopmen o PublicHis o y
in Eu ope’s Ge man-speaking coun ies: Ge man Public
His o y, in addi ion o ha ing been e iden ly influenced
by i s Ame ican coun e pa , is oo ed equally in his o ical
science and he Geschich sdidak ik [his o ical didac ics]
ing ained in he Ge man uni e si y sys em. Ma in Lücke,
a p oponen o didac ic his o y eaching, is one o he
h ee di ec o s o he mas e ’s p og am in public his o y a
he F ee Uni e si y o Be lin, whose cou se coo dina o is
he his o ian I mga d Zündo . The au ho ial eam hus
embodies he specific Ge man posi ioning o public his-
o y be ween his o ical science and his o ical didac ics.
The book co e s he mos c ucial aspec s o public his-
o y eaching, esea ch, and p ac ice. The fi s chap e p o-
ides a b ie o e iew o he his o y o he ins i u ionaliza ion
o public his o y in he Uni ed S a es and in Ge many. In his
con ex , Lücke und Zündo gi e p og amma ic and con-
cep ual defini ions o his o y o he public and in he public
sphe e. The second chap e conside s public his o y in e ms
o i s close ela ionship wi h his o ical didac ics. I d aws
connec ions be ween undamen al p inciples o his o y
eaching (such as na a i i y and mul i-pe spec i i y) and
he a ious ways in which his o ical knowledge can be ac-
qui ed in he public sphe e. The social ole o his o y in he
public sphe e is also unde gi ded he e, as illus a ed wi h
e e ences o di e si y and inclusi i y. The hi d chap e
discusses a numbe o me hodological app oaches o public
his o y. These a e d awn om bo h his o y in he na ow
sense as well as he a s and humani ies mo e gene ally, and
include ma e ial cul u e, isual, sound, o al, and li ing
his o y. Lücke und Zündo hus ocus on a ange o pa a-
digma ic app oaches o public his o y ha ha e also been
he subjec o much in e na ional discussion. The many
connec ions hey d aw be ween esea ch and eaching, in
addi ion o his o ical p ac ice and public- acing ac i i ies,
make abundan ly clea he in e disciplina i y inhe en o he
wo k o public his o ians. The ole o a ious ex ual and
audio- isual (digi al) media in he cons uc ion o his o ical
au hen ici y is he subjec o he ou h chap e . He e Lücke
again u ns explici ly o he con as ing oles public his o-
ians (can) play: as ecipien s, as p oduce s, and/o as
analys s.
In he wo inal chap e s, he e is a g ea e ocus on
public his o y’s p ac ical aspec s: he i h chap e dis-
cusses museums and monumen s as key ocal poin s o
s a egies o he cul u e o his o y and memo y. Finally,
chap e six u ns o he eaching o public his o y in uni-
e si ies. He e, Lücke and Zündo s ess he linkage o
heo y and p ac ice cons i u i e o public his o y –no leas
in he con ex o mas e ’s heses, which (should) include
bo h his o ical analyses and p ojec -based p ac ical com-
ponen s. The po en ial p o essional fields a ailable o
public his o ians and he e hical aspec s o his o ical wo k
(bo h gene ally and as pa o commissioned his o y), as
discussed h ough an in e na ional lens by An oon de
Bae s,
1
a e also b iefly men ioned he e. Wha is no clea ,
1An oon de Bae s, Responsible His o y (New Yo k: Be ghahn Books,
2009); An oon de Bae s, C imes agains His o y (New Yo k: Rou ledge,
2019).
In e na ional Public His o y. 2022; 5(1): 57–58
Open Access. © 2022 Co d A endes, published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional
License.
howe e , is whe he he ca ee oppo uni ies ske ched ou
apply o all his o ians and, consequen ly, wha qualifica-
ions public his o ians in Ge many ypically ha e in com-
pa ison o specialis s om o he a eas o he his o ical
sciences.
O e all, he a ious chap e s p o ide a good in o-
duc ion o he subs ance, me hods, and s uc u es o
Ge man Public His o y. In e ms o i s beginning p o es-
sionaliza ion, hey also lis key ac o s, ins i u ions, places
o s udy, and deg ee cou ses as well as jou nals and pub-
lica ion se ies. Lücke und Zündo ha e hank ully s uc-
u ed hei in oduc ion so as o p o ide no only s uden s
o public his o y wi h a good o e iew o he field, bu also
p ac i ione s and expe s in o he a eas o he a s and
humani ies. These esul s om he book’s well- hough -
ou didac ic s uc u e: each indi idual chap e ’s concise
and in o ma i e subsec ion also includes lis s o ele an
li e a u e.
Ma in Lücke and I mga d Zündo should be
cong a ula ed o p oducing he fi s single- olume in o-
duc ion o Public His o y in he Ge man language. They
ha e succeeded in aking a la ge s ep owa ds achie ing a
concep ual and subs an i e consensus and a ounda ional
cu iculum based on an iden ifiable me hodology. Thei
collec ion and ( e) o mula ion o co e p inciples o public
his o y is also a con ibu ion o he necessa y p o ession-
aliza ion o he discipline in Ge many.
Two a eas ha should p o e pa icula ly accessible o
an in e na ional eade ship a e hose ha conce n p ac ical
wo k ela ing o museums and monumen s, which a e
conside ed co e conce ns o public his o y a ound he
wo ld. Accoun ing Lücke and Zündo ’s wo k in ela ion o
English-language equi alen s published in ecen yea s,
2
howe e , demons a es ha Ge many’s pe sonal and ins i-
u ional se ings, as well as Ge many’s in o mal didac ic
museological and memo ial lea ning con ex s, di e
significan ly om ha o o he coun ies. The book also
shows ha “pa icipa ion”and “sha ed au ho i y”(s ill)
ha e less significance o Ge man public his o y, whose
cen al elemen s Lücke and Zündo iden i y wi h good
eason as “his o y in he public sphe e and o he public”(9)
and no explici ly his o y by o wi h he public. The easons
o his may also be pa ially ound in he his o y and
s uc u e o Ge man his o ical schola ship: while, in he
English-speaking wo ld, hose aspec s o public his o y ha
a e closes o he people o en ake he o m o communi y
his o y p ojec s, in Ge many, egional and s a e his o y
p ojec s associa ed wi h uni e si ies a e mo e common. Ye ,
i is p ecisely his kind o pa h-dependence ha leads us o
eflec again on ou own unde s anding o public his o y.
2Faye Saye , Public His o y. A P ac ical Guide (London: Bloomsbu y,
2015); Thomas Cau in, Public His o y. A Tex book o P ac ice (New
Yo k: Rou ledge, 2016); Che s in M. Lyon, Elisabe h M. Nix, and
Rebecca K. Sh um, In oduc ion o Public His o y. In e p e ing he Pas ,
Engaging Audiences (La ham: Rowan & Li lefield, 2017).
58 Book Re iew
