Preparations for the biennial Dutch Historians’ Days (from the 26th to the 28th of August 2021) are in full swing. The three-day event, jointly organized by the Royal Netherlands Historical Society (KNHG) and the History Department of the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), are meant for everyone interested in history, professionally or otherwise. This edition of the Historians’ Days will revolve around the theme History Beyond Borders. Would you like to participate and discuss this theme in Rotterdam next summer?
Conference formats
In this third edition of the Historians’ Days the program once again features a broad range of lectures, presentations, workshops and discussions to which you may contribute. If you would like to do so, please submit a proposal for the following sections:
- Spreading the News Sessions accommodate individual or group presentations about innovative historical research, as well as sharing new approaches, projects of heritage institutions or practices in teaching history. Applying new digital research and presentation techniques relates to this as well. Conditions for these sessions are a maximum of five speakers (including the moderator) and sufficient opportunity for debate with the participants after the presentations. Duration: one and a half hours.
- Opinions Without Borders offers a forum to speakers whose opinions explicitly differ on relevant historical topics and are seeking dialogue. All opinions are to be heard, as long as they derive from historical knowledge and are based on arguments. We hope that facilitating the debate will improve understanding of the different opinions about complex historical subjects. Conditions for these sessions are a maximum of five speakers (including the moderator) and sufficient opportunity for debate with the participants after the presentations. Duration: one and a half hours.
- Crossing Border Sessions are exactly what the name indicates: sessions that transcend or cross borders. This may be substantive but may also entail presenting in a different format. These sessions are organized simultaneously with the other types of sessions. The objective of Crossing Border Sessions is to challenge and encourage each other through alternative ways of imparting knowledge. Crossing Border Sessions may entail the following formats:
- Brainstorm – submit a (research) idea, question or problem, and participants are invited to brainstorm with you about answers, solutions or (research) questions. Duration: 45 minutes.
- Storytelling – in this format speakers are invited to convey their research or subject matter creatively, for example as a story or a spoken word performance. Duration: maximum one hour. Shorter is fine, in that case different contributions will be combined in one session.
- Labs – workshops in all kinds of formats and manifestations. Options include Think Digital!, interpreting sources together, discussing new teaching methodologies, introducing a new website, etc. Duration: one and a half hours.
- Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner – in the tradition of this renowned setting, we are offering Historians’ Days participants a chance to step up onto the soapbox. In a brief speech, addressing a large audience, you talk about your current issue, present your provocative statement, or incite controversy. Duration: the presentation shall not exceed 5-10 minutes, after which the audience shall have another 5-10 minutes to respond. The sessions shall also be recorded and posted on the website to continue the discussion online as well.
The Historians’ Days are designed to convey current events throughout the discipline.
