Das 20. Jahrhundert in Grundbegriffen
Lexikon zur historischen Semantik in Deutschland
[The 20th Century in Basic Concepts. A Dictionary of Historical Semantics in Germany]

The articles are continually published in open access in the Schwabe Verlag’s e-library. Following the project’s conclusion, the dictionary will be available in five printed volumes.

In terms of the history of concepts, the 20th century is yet to be surveyed. This is what the dictionary The 20th Century in Basic Concepts, a joint project lead by the ZfL in Berlin in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute for the German Language (IDS) in Mannheim and the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF), aims to accomplish. In 150 keywords, the dictionary explores 20th century historical semantics in Germany characterized by asynchronicities, accelerated attrition, conceptual innovations, and terminological revolutions. As an interdisciplinary research endeavor, the dictionary does not only record secured knowledge. Instead, it provides a significant contribution to basic research in the humanities, cultural, social, and historical sciences. It explores exchange processes between scientific, political, literary-aesthetic, and everyday language—the entire variety of the generation, circulation and changing meanings of concepts. Here, the dictionary combines hermeneutic practices with digital methods that enable us to include very large text corpora that can then be systematically analyzed for concept-historical purposes.

Published articles

• Einleitung Ernst Müller, Barbara Picht, Falko Schmieder
• Alltag Moritz Neuffer
• Aufklärung/Gegenaufklärung Ernst Müller
• Ausnahmezustand/Notstand Stefanie Middendorf
• Autorität, autoritär, antiautoritär Kristoffer Klammer
• Behinderung Raphael Rössel
• Demokratie Stefan Scholl
• Diskriminierung Christiane Reinecke
• Dritte Welt Benjamin Möckel
• Elite Morten Reitmayer
• Energie Rüdiger Graf
• Europa Kiran Klaus Patel
• Familie Christopher Neumaier
• Forschung Désirée Schauz
• Generation Barbara Picht
• Globalisierung, Welt David Kuchenbuch
• Grenze Falko Schmieder
• Innovation, Neuerung Susanna Weber
• Intellektuelle Gangolf Hübinger
• Klima Matthias Heymann, Katja Gorbahn
• Kreativität Morten Bierganns
• Markt, Marktwirtschaft Ralf Ahrens
• Migration Kijan Espahangizi
• Moderne/Modernisierung Wolfgang Knöbl
• Netz, Netzwerk, Vernetzung Alexander Friedrich
• Ökologie Florian Sprenger, Christina Wessely
• Pazifismus Charlotta Seiler Brylla
• Plan, Planung Dirk van Laak
• Prognose Laetitia Lenel
• Propaganda Benno Nietzel
• Prävention/Vorsorge Nicolai Hannig
• Rasse Christian Koller
• Risiko Rüdiger Graf, Marcus Müller
• Sicherheit Achim Saupe
• Täter/Opfer Constantin Goschler
• Umwelt Frank Uekötter
• Westen, Abendland Jasper M. Trautsch

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