In recent decades, not only the global order, but also individual societies, communities, epistemes and narratives have become increasingly fragmented due to overlapping political crises and the disruptive effects of climate change.

Writing the history of humanity in such a situation raises a number of fundamental questions about the relationship between the present and the seemingly ending era of globalizations, the future of the Anthropocene and world history writing. These questions will be discussed in this workshop, which is dedicated to the collaborative efforts of writing a contemporary “History of Humankind”.

The project is linked to the book series “History of Mankind”, which was launched by UNESCO in the 1950s (then called “History of Mankind”) as one of the pillars of the post-World War II peace strategy and as an academic project against epistemic nationalisms. The persistence of nationalist and Eurocentric frameworks in the first edition was severely criticized and led to a greater focus on regional histories written “from within”. As a result, the idea emerged to develop a “Global History of Humanity” that draws on different historiographical traditions, overcomes methodological nationalism and addresses the fundamental challenges of a globally oriented historiography.

This workshop will bring together scholars from four continents, diverse historiographical traditions and disciplinary backgrounds. They will discuss fundamental issues such as the unity and diversity of humans, the influence of individual and collective consciousness on historiography, and the globalization of memory.