Researching historical topics for the public with students

History is en vogue!

The fact that history can be more than just a "dusty" school subject or university research in an ivory tower is shown by the continuing public interest in historical topics, which is reflected in the growing abundance of podcast formats or the numerous history documentaries on public broadcasting as well as on the private streaming portals Netflix or Disney+. History education also takes place in other areas such as museums and schools and reaches a broad public in this way too.

Knowledge transfer

With the new Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act (BayHIG) 2023, the transfer of technology and knowledge between universities and society is moving more into focus. However, it is not only with the 2023 Act that technology and knowledge transfer has become one of the core tasks at Bavarian universities; in fact, transfer has in some cases accompanied research and teaching activities at universities for much longer. For example, knowledge transfer is also one of the focal points of the teaching activities of historians at the University of Bayreuth and has been actively pursued by the Institute of Franconian Regional History in particular for many years. Through courses and joint projects, students of history are taught the skills to interact with social actors such as museums, media institutions or educational establishments and also to adequately prepare the latest research findings for non-university actors.

Student Projects

In exercises and project courses - which are integrated into the curriculum - students work together with lecturers and external project partners such as Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Bamberg State Archives, the Bavarian Museum Academy or the Bayreuth Historical Museum to tackle the challenge of presenting historical topics in an understandable and informative way for different target groups. In exhibition projects such as "The History of the Thurnau Shoe Factory" or "From the Fortress to the Museum", students can present current historical research findings to a broad public in a vivid way and thus not only gain valuable practical experience but also promote a lasting understanding of their own history and of the university subject of history among the general public.

Master's programme History in Science and Practice

Since the winter semester 2019/20, the University of Bayreuth has been offering the practice-oriented Master's degree programme "History in Science and Practice". The aim of the programme is to provide students on the Master's degree course with the necessary skills to present historical content in a well-founded and successful manner both in an academic environment and to a wider audience and to be able to apply historical expertise in different contexts. By realising their own projects in particular, students should acquire project management skills and are also prepared for potential areas of work after graduation through the project work.

In this way, numerous projects in the areas of "Museum and Exhibition", "Archive and Library", "Journalism", "History and Public Relations" and "Digital Public Sphere" have already been successfully realised in recent years through the collaboration of students, lecturers and non-university partners. Currently, the Thurnau Pottery Museum is hosting the student exhibition "Glamour - Glitz - Scandals? The Thurnau Party Society 'Rote Hand'" can be viewed.