The ZZF heads the Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past
Head: Dr. Achim Saupe, Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Martin Sabrow
The Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past” brings together 21 Leibniz institutes and Leibniz research museums, as well as numerous international cooperation partners from the fields of history, cultural studies, the social sciences and the environmental sciences. It also co-operates with institutions from various fields of application, from museums, collections and archives to memorial sites and actors in the field of public history.
Whether toppled monuments, contested pasts, the revision of historical images, restitution conflicts or debat.es about the epochal character of the Anthropocene and the loss of biodiversity: the question of the "value of the past" is taking up an ever-greater space in our social self-understanding. The Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam manages the Leibniz Research Alliance "Value of the Past" (LRA VoP) through Dr. Achim Saupe. The spokesperson of the Leibniz Research Alliance is Prof. Dr. Martin Sabrow. The Alliance began its work on 1 September 2021.
What research questions and topics does the Alliance deal with?
What value does the past have for societies in the past and present? And how is this value created and communicated? These questions are at the centre of this Leibniz Research Alliance (LRA). On a German, European and global scale, we examine how historical evidence is shaped by language, mediality and digitality, how concepts of space and time contour images of history, and how the resource of the past is used for forms of identity formation and the creation of community, as well as for a growing history market. The network builds on the work of the Leibniz Research Alliance “Historical Authenticity,” which funded projects that are currently in the final stages of completion. From 2013 to 2021, the Alliance investigated – from a transdisciplinary and international perspective – how historical and contemporary notions of authenticity have influenced the treatment of cultural heritage. You can find out more about its research questions and findings in the “Archive - LRA Historical Authenticity.”
Visit the website of the LRA “Value of the Past” to learn more about the Alliance’s work: the latest news, events, research goals, knowledge transfer, publications, visiting scholars, and the research hubs and research labs in which the Alliance reflects upon the “value of the past” for societies, in both historical and contemporary contexts.
Scholars at the ZZF Potsdam are currently working on six projects in the LRA “Value of the Past.”
Here is an overview of all the ZZF projects (including those already completed) in the Leibniz Research Alliance.
Blog and Social Media
Check out the blog value.past https://valuepast.hypotheses.org/ and follow the Leibniz Research Alliance “Value of the Past” on X at @leibniz_values and on Bluesky Social at @valuepast.bsky.social.
The Leibniz Research Alliances bring together internal and external resources, and also bundle competencies
Leibniz Research Alliances are an instrument for internal and external networking within the Leibniz Association. Their aim is to bundle the complementary expertise of the institutes and thus pave the way for particularly successful research projects. They are central points of contact for politics, the media, funding organisations and civil society. Leibniz Research Alliances are open to collaboration with universities, other non-university research and infrastructure institutions, as well as international research groups and partners from industry. An overview of the current five Leibniz Research Alliances (as of April 2024) can be found on the Leibniz Association website here.