Between history and politics: the image of Mykhailo Hrushevsky in German Slavic studies of the first third of the 20th century

The article is dedicated to the reception of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s academic achievements in German science and journalism during the first third of the 20th century, in the years of World War I and the interwar period. The authors emphasize that German scientists were generally honest about the achievements and activity of the Ukrainian historian. Despite their scepticism towards M. Hrushevsky’s Anti-Normanism ideology, they followed closely the emergence of his major scientific works. In the reception of the Ukrainian historian’s work, the academic motivation definitely dominated over the political one, although the latter indirectly appeared in many statements devoted to him. The authors prove the vivid presence of Hrushevsky’s thought in the German Slavic discourse of the period.

Proposal for Research and Development of Research Tools: “The Role of Theory in Understanding and Resolving the Reliability Crisis”

This is a copy of a successful German Science Foundation application proposing to conduct research on the reliability of science, and to develop applications that can help address this reliability. It focuses on the role of theory and causal inference from a meta-perspective.

Comunicación epistolar y colaboración científica entre especialistas alemanes en Sudamérica a fines del siglo XIX. Un estudio de la correspondencia entre Rodolfo Lenz y Robert Lehmann-Nitsche

The following paper undertakes the presentation and subsequent analysis of the initial section of an extended, although only partially preserved letter exchange between two salient German scholars settled in Argentina and Chile from the end of the 19th century on, and during the first decades of the 20th century: Rudolf Lenz, trained in linguistics and Romance languages at the renowned Romanistik School of Bonn, who worked at the Instituto Pedagógico in Santiago de Chile, and Robert Lehmann-Nitsche, a Prussian physician and anthropologist who was in charge of the Anthropological Section of a brand new modern Museum in Argentina’s recently founded city of La Plata. The letter exchange between them lasted from 1897 until 1928 and the analysis of its initial pieces (1897–1898) allows us to see how personal and scientific networks were constructed, and how German science and sociability managed to settle down in such distant locations and still remain connected with its system of origin.

Emile Durkheim’s Germany

The importance of German science for Durkheim seems indubitable. But writing about his relationship with Germany is not easy because this very relationship became the main reason for attacks against Durkheim. Indeed, in 1905, Simon Deploige, a Belgian professor at Louvain University, accused him of having imported German science into France without acknowledging that it was “German.” In the tense political international context of the time, the accusation had potentially important consequences because Durkheim, as a Jew, and shortly after the Dreyfus Affair, was eventually accused to be a German spy. How should historians deal with the topic? Saying that Durkheim was “influenced” by German thought may be adopting the point of view of an actor of the time (namely, Deploige). That is why this chapter will not talk about “influence,” a term which suggests that knowledge is received passively. Instead, the chapter focuses on what Durkheim describes as “German” in order to understand how this perception evolved between the 1880s and World War I.

Hubert Simon (Jim) Markl. 17 August 1938—8 January 2015

Hubert (Jim) Markl was a zoologist and animal behavioural physiologist; but, beyond that, he was arguably the most influential figure in European science policy and the key person influencing the relationship between science and society in Germany. He uniquely served as president of both the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Science Foundation) and the Max Planck Gesellschaft. In these roles he was an outstanding and bold advocate for scientific research in Germany and throughout Europe, and his astute judgement, cogency and intellectual rigour commanded the respect of all his peers. His occupancy of the two most senior positions in German science policy followed from his earlier substantial scientific contributions to the emerging discipline of behavioural ecology, as well as his books on science, society and culture. Markl was a leading spokesperson in Germany on contested issues at the interface between science and society; for example, he was an eloquent advocate of stem cell research, speaking out against the political mainstream. He also strove to expose fully, and acknowledge, the Max Planck Society's responsibility for atrocities committed by the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft scientists during the Nazi era; Markl will be remembered as the president who oversaw a historical analysis of the involvement of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft (the scientific society that legally preceded the Max Planck Gesellschaft), and in 2001 he apologized in the name of the Max Planck Society for the expulsion and deaths of Jewish scientists.

88th Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians in Innsbruck

Exactly fifty-five years ago, in 1869, after the fratricidal wars between the Prussians and the Austrians, the 43rd Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians, which united all representatives of German science of that time, took place in Innsbruck.

THE CONCEPT OF PEDAGOGICAL BIOGRAPHISTICS: THE EXPERIENCE OF GERMANY

The article attempts to substantiate the theoretical and methodological principles of biographical historical and pedagogical studies in Germany, based on developments in the field of pedagogical, psychological biographistics. The problem of constructing a real picture of the historical and pedagogical process that took place in German society is actualized. The leading task of biographistics, German researchers identified the return of the names of cultural and educational figures who contributed to the creation and development of the national German school and pedagogy, but due to certain gaps, prohibitions did not receive adequate coverage and were not studied. The significance of addressing the origins of German science and culture through the microhistory of an individual to create a complete history of pedagogical progress of the German ethnic group is substantiated.