Public lecture on the use of diaries in research on societies at war

Historians have long regarded diaries with some suspicion, because of their eminently subjective nature, which contrasts with other types of documents that are supposed to be more objective. As a result, their use – or more precisely the use of a small number of them, often the same ones – has often been confined to an illustrative function.

In recent years, however, a growing number of historians have turned their attention to these diaries, discovering in them a wealth of material. This is particularly true in the context of research into the history of wars and military occupations of the 20th century, two phenomena that have led to an explosion in the writing of diaries.   

This greater recognition has been accompanied by the development of new approaches, which not only make subjectivity an object of research rather than an obstacle, but also consider the diary beyond the uniqueness of its author and his or her writing. In this way, the very process of keeping a diary is explored in order to better understand the inner experience of military occupation. In the same way, submitting diaries to quantitative treatment makes it possible to renew cultural, social and factual approaches to military occupation, and even to embark on a history of emotions under occupation.

The lecture will be held in English. Registration is open until 12 December.

Profesor’s profile on ResearchGate.

The virtual lecture is organised within the framework of the Latvian state research program, the project “Navigating the Latvian History of the 20th–21st Century: Social Morphogenesis, Legacy and Challenges” (No. VPP-IZM-Vēsture-2023/1-0003), international lecture series “New Perspectives in History”.