Teaching

M.A. European Contemporary History/Digital History (University of Luxembourg) – “Digital Texts, Annotation, Digital Edition and AI – Theory and Practice on the Basis of Field Post Letters of Luxembourgers from the Second World War” – 24 hours per week / summer semester 2022

After completing this course, students will be able to:Analyse diverse ego-documentsWork with primary sources and develop their ability for source-criticismRead and analyse ego-documents such as war lettersDevelop their ability to work with digitized archival sourcesUse digital tools (like transcription and annotations tools) to study historical documentsImprove and train their palaeographical skills in German cursive scriptWork independently on a research assignment based on ego-documents Develop their written and oral argumentation skills

The study of the Second World War is not only composed of the public and official records; there are other sources to consider here, the so-called “ego-documents” such as diaries and letters. Letters are a unique source and provide more information about individual fates than administrative records. When the letters are preserved, they can provide insights into the stories of the people concerned. What can these letters tell us from an analytical and scientific point of view?The letters, written on the war front or in the labour camps, represent only a small section of the war experiences and their fates. To gain insight into our objects of study, i.e. personal and individual views, it is suitable to consult ego-documents such as the field post letters.For this, however, the historical documents must be prepared for analysis and reading. The meta-data must be recorded, the letter digitised, and the content transcribed. After the preparation of the material and its information, the content must now be examined. What did the author of the letter write and to whom? Under what circumstances did he write about violence, killings at the front or only about harmless situations?The ego-documents are considered unique and additional sources to the official and public records. Nevertheless, they must be viewed with great caution and criticism. These personal documents are an expression of subjective perceptions and undoubtedly require a source-critical reading.

10 %  Attendance and class participation       40 %  Class assignments       50 %  Final presentation

M.A. European Contemporary History/Digital History (University of Luxembourg) – Introduction to Digital Text Recognition. HTR and the automated reading of texts and the use of AIs in text recognition – Module course / winter semester 2021

M.A. European Contemporary History/Digital History (University of Luxembourg) – “Cemeteries as European Heritage – Module course / winter semester 2020

M.A. European Contemporary History/Digital History (University of Luxembourg) – Information manage and data curator – Introduction to two professions in the cultural sector -one module / winter semester 2020

B.A. “Cultures Européennes” (University of Luxembourg) – “First-person documents and biographies of Luxembourg soldiers in the Second World War”, University of Luxembourg – 24 hours per week / summer semester 2021

M.A. Digital and European History (NIOD/University of Amsterdam) – “War Letters”- Research Seminar – Module event / Summer 2021