Prof. Dr. Chris Lorenz

CV

Chris Lorenz is professor of philosophy of history and of historiography at the VU University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He did his MA and Ph.D. at the University of Amsterdam and held a chair in philosophy of history in Leiden between 1989 and 2004. He published predominantly on philosophy of history, modern German historiography, comparative historiography and on higher education. He was awarded with a Alexander Von Humboldt Researchprize in Germany in 1996 and has been visiting professor in Graz (Austria, 1999), Erfurt (Germany, 2000), and at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (USA, 2005). He has been visiting fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in Wassenaar (1990), at the ‚Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Forschung’ in Bielefeld (1996), at the ‚Arbeitstellle für Vergleichende Gesellschaftsgeschichte’ in Berlin (1997) and at the ‚Berliner Kolleg für Vergleichende Geschichte Europas’ (2007). In 2009-10 he is senior fellow at the ‘Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies’.

He is, among others, member of the Advisory Board of The Oxford History of History Writing and also of the Editorial Board of Zeithistorische Forschungen/ Studies in Conctemporary History (Potsdam). Publications by him have been translated into English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Hebrew, Korean and Chinese.

Publications

Books, Proceedings, Editions, and Articles (10 selected)

- De constructie van het verleden. Een inleiding in de theorie van de geschiedenis, [Constructing of the past. An introduction into philosophy of history] Boom: Meppel/Amster¬dam 1987, 351 p.; 9th rev. ed. 2008, 400p. Revised translation in German: Konstruktion der Vergangenheit. Eine Einführung in die Geschichtstheorie, Böhlau Verlag: Cologne/Weimar/Vienna 1997, 480 p.

- Przekraczanie Granic: Esejez filozofii historii i teorii historiografii (Bordercrossings. Explorations between History and Philosophy), Wydawnictwo Poznañskie : Poznan 2009, 412 p.

- ‘Historical knowledge and historical reality. A plea for "internal realism" ', in: History and Theory 33 (1994), 3, 297- 327; reprinted in: B. Fay en R.T. Vann (eds.), History and Theory. Contemporary Readings, Oxford 1998, 342-377; reprinted in Robert M. Burns (ed.), Historiography. Critical Concepts in Historical Studies. Vol. 4, Culture, Routledge, Oxford/ New York 2006, 434-468. Chinese translation in: Chen Qineng and Ni Weigo (eds.), Writing History, vol.1. of the series The Frontiers of Historiography, vol.1., Shanghai 2003, 78-99; revised version in German translation: ‘Historisches Wissen und historische Wirklichkeit: Für einen ´internen Realismus´ ‘, in: Jens Schröter/Antje Eddelbüttel (eds.), Konstruktion von Wirklichkeit. Beiträge aus geschichtstheoretischer, philosophischer und theologischer Perspektive, Berlin/New York 2004, 65-106.

- `Narrativism, positivism and the "metaphorical turn" ', in: History and Theory 37 (1998), 3, 309-329; in Hungarian translation: ‘Lehetnek-e igazak a tortének? Narrativizmus, pozitivizmus és a “metaforikus fordulat” ‘, in: Thomka Beáta (ed.), Narratívák 4. A történelem poétikája, Budapest 2001, 121-147; Chinese translations: in: World Philosophy, no.2, 2002, 12 – 21, and in: Shadong Social Science Vol. 3 (2004), nr. 103, 5-21; revised version in German translation: ‘Kann Geschichte wahr sein? Zu den narrativen Geschichtsphilosophien von Hayden White und Frank Ankersmit’, in: Jens Schröter/Antje Eddelbüttel (eds..), Konstruktion von Wirklichkeit. Beiträge aus geschichtstheoretischer, philosophischer und theologischer Perspektive, Berlin/New York 2004, 33-63.

- 'Bordercrossings. Some reflections on recent debates in German history', in: Dan Michman (ed.), Remembering the Holocaust in Germany 1945 - 2000. German Challenges and Jewish Responses, New York 2002, 59-95; in Spanish translation: ‚Encricijadas. Reflexiones acerca del papel de los historiodones alemanes en los debates publicos receintes sobre historia nazi’, in: Manuel Cruz and Daniel Brauer (eds.), La Comprehension del Pasado. Ecritos sobre filosofia de la historia, Barcelona 2005, 335-383.

- ‘Towards a theoretical framework for comparing historiographies: Some preliminary considerations’, in: Peter Seixas (ed.), Theorizing Historical Consciousness, Toronto 2004, 25 – 48 (2nd ed. in 2006).

- ‘Won’t you tell me where have all the good times gone? On the advantages and disadvantages of modernization theory for history’, in: Rethinking History vol. 10 (2006), nr. 2 (june), 171- 200; reprinted in Q. Edward Wang and Franz L. Fillafer (eds.), The Many Faces of Clio: Cross-cultural Approaches to Historiography, New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2007, 104-127.

- ‘Drawing the line: “Scientific” History between Myth-making and Myth-breaking’, in: Stefan Berger, Linas Eriksonas and Andrew Mycock (eds), Narrating the Nation. Representations in History, Media and the Arts, New York/Oxford 2008, 35-55. Italian translation: ‘La linea di confine.La Storia “scientifica” fra costruzione e decostruzione del mito‘, Quaderni Storici 121 (april 2006), nr.1, 289-311. Spanish translation in D. Brauer (ed.), Rewriting Social Memory, Buenos Aires 2010 (in press).

- (ed, with Stefan Berger), The Contested Nation. Ethnicity, Religion, Class and Gender in National Histories, Houndsmill: Palgrave Macmillan 2008, 544 p.

- (ed.), ‘If you’re so smart why aren’t you rich? Beschouwingen over de universiteit, de markt en management’ [Reflections on the university, the market and management], Boom: Amsterdam 2008,. 362 p.

FRIAS Research Project