Historical Behaviour Studies

Historical behaviour studies (Historische Verhaltensforschung) is a field of research in cultural history and cultural anthropology and a particular methodological approach to the study of human behaviour.

Historical behaviour studies are a type of cultural sociology under the particular aspect of historical change. Its focal points were:

The Historical Behaviour Studies (Historische Verhaltensforschung) were established in 1971 by August Nitschke and Henning Eichberg as a department of the University of Stuttgart. The Department of Historical Behaviour Studies was part of the newly established Institute of Social Research, side by side with departments of social planning and social economy. Later on, historians like Johannes Burkhardt , Andreas Kalckhoff, Harald Kleinschmidt, Volker Saftien and Michael Walter joined the department. Others like Wolfgang Christian Schneider, Andreas Gestrich , Mathias Beer und Katja Erdmann-Rajski worked in connection with the department and used similar methods of research.

The research of this Stuttgart school of studies in human behaviour was to a certain extent parallel to the History of Mentalities from France, to the Cultural Sociology (Kultursoziologie ) from Germany and Denmark, and to the Historical Anthropology or Alltagsgeschichte from Germany which arose in the 1990s. Referring to Ruth Benedict, Norbert Elias and Michel Foucault, the patterns of human behaviour were called “” (→Configurational analysis (Konfigurationsanalyse)).

The Stuttgart school of Historical Behaviour Studies directed special attention towards fundamental and abrupt changes of behavior and society, as they could be observed in the context of the Renaissance 1550–1650, of the Industrial Revolution around 1770–1820, and in cultural change around 1900–1930. Other changes were studied for the Middle Ages. These historical case studies could lead to questions concerning the significance and change of behaviour at present and in the future.

...
Wikipedia