kulturhistorien

Kulturhistorien, or cultural history, is a branch of historiography that studies how cultures are created, transmitted, and transformed through time. It examines beliefs, practices, symbols, and material expressions—language, literature, religion, art, rituals, fashion, technology—and how these elements shape everyday life and social institutions. Rather than focusing solely on political events or economic structures, kulturhistorien seeks to understand the meanings people attach to their world and how those meanings change.

Its scholarly origins lie in the 19th-century concept of Kulturgeschichte in German-speaking regions, later popularized by scholars such as Burckhardt and others, and by the broader “cultural turn” in the social sciences of the late 20th century. Methods are interdisciplinary and include analysis of textual sources, material culture, visual culture, oral history, and ethnographic analogy. It often employs microhistory and contextualized case studies to illuminate broader cultural processes, such as national identity, memory, gender norms, or religious practice.

Today kulturhistorien is practiced globally and intersects with cultural studies, art history, anthropology, and archaeology. Critics warn against cultural determinism and presentism, emphasizing the need to situate cultural artifacts within their historical contexts and power relations. The field remains flexible, addressing topics from everyday life to transnational exchanges and media culture.