Historical research is reflected in a broad spectrum of forms of research organization and implementation. In addition to the continuing importance of individual research, collaborative forms of work in networks and joint projects are playing an increasingly important role. Researchers at the Institute of History are involved in such contexts in a variety of ways, ranging from regional to national to international cooperation.
A large proportion of the numerous and diverse research projects can be found on the websites of the Institute's professorships. In addition, the Institute of History also has four thematic clusters, which bundle the research and interests of the professorships into profile-forming focal points with overarching perspectives. These focal points currently cover the following areas and subjects:
The research priorities mark the strategic development of research at the Institute of History, which combines the sustainable development of central research fields with constant innovation. Thus, the research focus areas bundle an important part, but by no means all, of the research work carried out at the Institute of History. The formation of research priorities is understood as a dynamic process that takes into account the process of constant renewal of research fields and research perspectives that is constitutive for historical science. The work in the research focus areas, but also the individual research at the Department of History, is regularly discussed at a research day organized by the Research Commission of the Department of History and evaluated with the help of external historians. In this way, the dynamics of the overarching research clusters at the Department of History are continuously secured and space is created for innovative research that sees itself as part of the international scientific community.
In addition to its own research focus areas, the Department of History is networked in many ways with the research focus areas in the Faculty of History, which can be accessed via this link.
The history of Eastern Europe is one of the focal points at the Department of History and is characterized by an extraordinary thematic and geographical breadth. The close cooperation between the chairs of Ottoman History, Eastern European History and German Culture and History in Eastern Europe means that a geographical area ranging from North-East Asia and the post-Soviet region to the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean is taken into consideration. The close cooperation with the Martin-Opitz Library, the Center for Mediterranean Studies and the Center for Religious Studies gives this focus an additional diversity of content. Through its integration into the Osteuropa-Kolleg NRW, research and teaching are also closely linked to non-university institutions, which open up career prospects for students. Under the title “Empires between Europe and Asia”, this research focus is dedicated to the history of great empires such as the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, Poland-Lithuania and the Habsburg Monarchy, which had a lasting impact on the region and are increasingly at the center of political and social debates again today. At the same time, post-imperial structures and the development of the states that emerged on the territories of these former empires are also examined. The Chair of History of the Ottoman Empire and Mediterranean Studies focuses on the history of the Levant, Asia Minor and the Balkans, with a particular emphasis on Ottoman history in the early modern period. East Central European history from Hungary to Poland and the Baltic states is represented by the Chair of German Culture and History in Eastern Europe. A special focus is placed on the various national groups, as the professorship is also associated with the Martin Opitz Library. The Chair of Eastern European History is characterized by a special profile, as it focuses not only on the history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, but also on the history of these states in Asia. All three professorships are part of the Osteuropa-Kolleg NRW and supervise students in the Master's degree specialization in Eastern European Studies with a practical focus.
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Last update: May 08, 2025
