historiesacross

Historiesacross is a cross-disciplinary initiative and digital platform dedicated to exploring histories that connect places, peoples, and time periods beyond conventional national or disciplinary boundaries. It functions as both a theoretical framework and a collaborative project, seeking to illuminate how past events and processes intersect across geographies and cultures.

The term gained traction in scholarly circles in the 2000s and 2010s as historians and archivists emphasized transnational perspectives. Historiesacross crystallized as a collaboration among universities, libraries, and cultural institutions to pool sources, standardize metadata, and present interconnected narratives.

Activities include developing a permissively licensed digital archive, hosting peer-reviewed digital publications, organizing working groups, and running education programs. It prioritizes primary sources, oral histories, and material culture, and uses interoperable data schemas to enable cross-search and cross-referencing.

Impact and reception: Historiesacross has been used as a framework in graduate courses and public history projects, and it has been cited as a model for collaborative historiography. It also faces challenges such as ensuring inclusive representation and aligning divergent methodological norms across disciplines and regions.

Governance and funding: The initiative operates as a network of partner institutions with a light-weight governance structure and a steering committee. It is funded by a mix of grants, institutional support, and philanthropic contributions, with a commitment to open access and shared stewardship of digital resources.