MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Event

Sep 18-19, 2024
Methods Intensive Master Class with Deborah Harkness: "Plots, Characters, and Arguments: The Writer’s Craft" + "Attending to Audience"

Workshops

  • Workshop I: Plots, Characters, and Arguments: The Writer’s Craft

    This workshop will explore the connections between the craft of historical writing and the craft of fictional writing. We will look at examples of intellectual biography, see how a historian’s ability to explain social context is critical to good writing, and discuss the writer’s craft (in all genres!).

  • Workshop II: Attending to Audience

    While many proclaim that the humanities are no longer relevant, the popular appetite for historical tales and treatments suggests the opposite. How, as writers in any genre, can we better meet that demand? How can fiction inform the work of historians, and vice versa? We will be examining works of fiction and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses that result when more attention is paid to historical minutiae than larger arguments that historians make about the past. 

Organizer(s)
Address
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestraße 63–73, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Room
Seminar Room 2
Contact and Registration

Internal event/MPIWG-only event: For registration to the workshop or other inquiries please get in touch with the IMPRS office: imprs-office@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

For more information, please visit https://imprs.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/

About This Series

The Methods Intensive Master Class @ MPIWG is organized as part of the International Max Planck Research School “Knowledge and Its Resources.” The Master Class series offers a forum where participants from a spectrum of disciplines can critically compare, confront, and combine their specific methodological skills and training in scientific, practical, or humanistic analysis. It serves as a creative platform to explore agendas, discuss limits, and expand the cross-disciplinary boundaries of the history of science. 

2024-09-18T10:00:00SAVE IN I-CAL 2024-09-18 10:00:00 2024-09-19 15:00:00 Methods Intensive Master Class with Deborah Harkness: "Plots, Characters, and Arguments: The Writer’s Craft" + "Attending to Audience" Workshops Workshop I: Plots, Characters, and Arguments: The Writer’s Craft This workshop will explore the connections between the craft of historical writing and the craft of fictional writing. We will look at examples of intellectual biography, see how a historian’s ability to explain social context is critical to good writing, and discuss the writer’s craft (in all genres!). Workshop II: Attending to Audience While many proclaim that the humanities are no longer relevant, the popular appetite for historical tales and treatments suggests the opposite. How, as writers in any genre, can we better meet that demand? How can fiction inform the work of historians, and vice versa? We will be examining works of fiction and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses that result when more attention is paid to historical minutiae than larger arguments that historians make about the past.  Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestraße 63–73, 14195 Berlin, Germany Seminar Room 2 IMPRS Office IMPRS Office Europe/Berlin public