Expeditionen in den Methodendschungel. Herausforderungen der Zeitgeschichtsforschung im Fernsehzeitalter

Abstract

Expeditions into the Jungle of Methods. The Challenges of Contemporary Historical Research in the Age of Television

Writing history in the television age involves particular challenges. How can contemporary historians adapt to the rising importance of audio-visual, electronic mass media since the second half of the twentieth century? The article highlights a number of new approaches, all of which go beyond the understanding of mass media as a mere mirror of developments and emphasise their specific historical agency. Five different swathes will be cut through the methodological and theoretical jungle: (1) actor-centred models, (2) international comparison and transnational entanglements, (3) intermedial comparison, (4) medialisation and (5) reception history in the «era of limited choice» using the concepts reach, standing, framing and agenda-setting. The article summarises the state of the field in both media studies and history and explores the possibilities of interdisciplinary dialogue.