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Copyright of Zeitschrift für Personalforschung is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses some crucial problems of area studies drawing on the example of East Central European studies in Germany today. Against the backdrop of persistent methodological imperatives stemming from the 19th and early 20th century, we argue that general definitions of space, time or structure are of little use even in relation to a constructed region. Instead, we call for a praxeological approach that takes into consideration specific situational entanglements and their actors. In the context of global, European, imperial or transnational turns in historical cultural studies, a non-hierarchical, spatial and temporal perspective becomes essential. This article seeks to encourage discussion about the chances and risks that current developments in historical area studies in Germany entail, while also providing an impulse to think about possible future ramifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While in historical research there is a general call for transnational history, the transnational level of historical cultures often remains under-represented. The latter has for long focused on the development of single national narratives when dealing with historical cultures. This is especially true for late nineteenth-century Europe, when the continent can be seen at the height of national divide and imperial ambition. Consequently, its historiographies are perceived to play a major role in the construction of separate national identities. By contrast, this article utilises the celebrations around the quartercentenary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas as a case study to analyse how forms of approaching, interpreting and transmitting history in different European contexts were deeply entangled. The study is based on illustrated newspapers and popular periodicals from five European regions, which provided access to textual and visual material for mass audiences to an unprecedented extent. The analysis of articles covering the anniversary unveils regional, national, transnational and pan-European patterns of historical sense-making. These affect historical narratives as well as the ways in which the press illustrated the past, produced historical truth, and created identification with the historical personage. Columbus and his deeds became symbols of modernism and embodiments of European superiority that were open for adaptation into different contexts. Therefore, historical cultures in Europe have to be characterised as both permeable and multi-dimensionally entangled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the Vienna Conference that were held in the 19th and 20th centuries. Various topics discussed include limited participation of Great Britain in the conference, impact of the conference on international relations of Austria in 19th century and security of European delegates who attended the convention in 1814 in Vienna, Austria.

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Personalforschung is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)