Vol. 34 No. 2 (2023): Work Semantics
Editors: Claude Chevaleyre, Juliane Schiel, with the collaboration of Thomas Wallnig
Editorial staff: Michaela Hafner
How does language relate to the social? How can historians decipher the social meaning of semantic expressions in historical documents, and how can the analytical categories and concepts used by historians reflect the social taxonomies of the historical sources without imposing the historians’ own mindset on societies of the past? While historical semantics has a long tradition as a subfield of linguistics and in area studies, historians have only recently started to think about historical semantics as an approach to history – mainly in relation to discussions about the use of digital analytical tools. A common understanding of the specificities, the diversity and the potential of a historical semantics approach to history, however, is still missing. This special issue aims to contribute to a clarification. It contains a programmatic vade mecum with methodological examples, six empirical case studies applying the historical semantics approach to the study of labour and power relations in premodern and modern societies, and an interview reflecting on the methodology. The volume is the result of the “Grammars of Coercion” working group of the COST Action CA18205 “Worlds of Related Coercions in Work”.
The volume is also published as a print-version in StudienVerlag. Coverdesign by himmel. Studio für Design und Kommunikation, Typesetting: Marianne Oppel, Cover: StudienVerlag/Karin Berner.
236 pp., EUR 37,--, ISBN 978-3-7065-6308-6; ISSN 1016-765 X
This publication is based upon work from COST Action “WORCK”, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Our Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation. www.cost.eu
