History of the Arbeitskreis 

The Arbeitskreis für Moderne Sozialgeschichte e.V. was founded in Heidelberg in 1957 by Werner Conze. From the outset, the aim of this group of historians, social scientists, theologians and lawyers was to engage in open-ended reflection and debate on issues, theoretical approaches, and methods in social history. 

The topics the group set itself included "workers and labor movements" in the 1970s, "social history of the family" and the "history of the educated middle class" in the 1980s, while in the 1990s it was primarily the "social history of Europe in the 20th century" and in the 2000s "work in a global perspective". They have given German historical scholarship significant impetus. The members of the work group have also developed the concept and written a significant portion of the encyclopedia "Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe", published by Otto Brunner, Werner Conze and Reinhart Koselleck. 

Key debates and developments in German historical studies were often initiated by discussions within the work group. For example, at the spring conference "Theory of Historical Science" in 1968, Reinhart Koselleck developed his dictum of the "need for theory in historical science" and, with his concept of a "saddle period", provided a theoretical framework for historical periods that remains influential to this day. Internal difference within the group also reflected the temporary camps within German historical studies, as became particularly clear at the fall conference in 1980. Hans-Ulrich Wehler and Jürgen Kocka argued for an empirically and theoretically grounded social history as a "vanishing point for the historical analysis of society as a whole", while Thomas Nipperdey argued against "society as a priority over politics and culture" and pointed to the "dependence of social history on cultural history". 

The fundamental question of how historical science can be practiced as a methodologically reflected and theory-oriented science continued to be at the center of debate and has taken on new relevance with the expansion of the subject area from German and European spheres of action to global contexts. Within the framework of the current focus on "capitalism", the approximately 25 members of the work group are asking, for example, what forms labor takes in global capitalism, how middle classes emerge as a result of globalization, and how financialization affects the state and society. 

Literature:

Ulrich Engelhardt, Konzepte der "Sozialgeschichte" im Arbeitskreis für moderne Sozialgeschichte. Ein Rückblick, Essen 2007.

Winfried Schulze, Deutsche Geschichtswissenschaft nach 1945, München 1989, S. 254-265.

Werner Conze, Die Gründung des Arbeitskreises für Moderne Sozialgeschichte, in: Hamburger Jahrbuch für Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftspolitik 24 (1979), S. 23-32.