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Conceptual history (also the History of Concepts) is a term used to describe a branch of the humanities, in particular of historical and cultural studies, which deals with the historical semantics of terms. It sees the etymology and the change in meaning of terms as a forming a crucial basis for contemporary cultural, conceptual and linguistic understanding. Conceptual history deals with the evolution of paradigmatic ideas and value systems over time, such as "liberty" or "reform." It argues that social history – indeed all historical reflection – must begin with an understanding of historically contingent cultural values and practices in their particular contexts over time, not merely as unchanging ideologies or processes (i.e. as in Marxism).
Interest in conceptual history was given a particular boost in the 20th century through the publication of of the Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie|Historischen Wörterbuch der Philosophie, the Geschichtlichen Grundbegriffe and the journal Archiv für Begriffsgeschichte.
Conceptual history is an interdisciplinary methodology. Alongside the philosopher Joachim Ritter, the historians Otto Brunner and Reinhart Koselleck and the sociologist Erich Rothacker are viewed as the leading scholars of the research area in the German-speaking world and internationally.
References
- Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie
- Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe
- Hans Erich Bödecker (ed.), Begriffsgeschichte, Diskursgeschichte, Metapherngeschichte, Göttingen: Wallstein-Verlag, 2002.
- Reinhart Koselleck (ed.), Historische Semantik und Begriffsgeschichte, Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1979.
- Ernst Müller (ed.), Begriffsgeschichte im Umbruch?, Hamburg: Felix Meiner Verlag, 2004.
- Reinhart Koselleck, Begriffsgeschichten, Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp 2006.
- Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Dimension und Grenzen der Begriffsgeschichte, Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2006.
