Bearers of knowledge and networks of education in Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Innovative project idea

1. The planned collaboration offers significant added value for students due to its interdisciplinary nature and innovative approach to studying historical networks. Via the planned collaboration between the Universities of Zurich and Complutense de Madrid, students gain access to a wealth of expertise and resources from two renowned institutions. Moreover, the joint course structure with simultaneous sessions held in both Zurich and Madrid provides a unique learning experience that promotes cross-cultural exchange and collaboration. Students will benefit from interacting with peers from different academic backgrounds and cultural contexts, thereby gaining insights into diverse research traditions and approaches. As a result, the course will provide students with opportunities to make international experiences as they will learn about different academic cultures and practices in Switzerland and Spain as well as possibilities of working together in an international collaborative environment. Additionally, the
   planned collaboration will allow students to profit from the varying research structures of the University of Zurich and the Complutense University of Madrid. It will finally allow participants to interact with experts in the field of social and political history in Zurich and the history of philosophy in Madrid.
2. Students will have the opportunity to engage in research-based learning, develop practical skills in prosopography and social network analysis, and utilize cutting-edge digital tools for historical research and geovisualization.
3. In this context, students will receive theoretical introductions to and hands-on approaches on current interdisciplinary research in philosophy, the history of philosophy, the history of the Roman Empire and current approaches to prosopography and network analysis.
4. Students’ research results will – if of sufficient quality – be shown on a website we will create and
   will be made accessible for the public over an extended period of time. The collaborative project allows students therefore to contribute to ongoing research and produce outcomes that are not only valuable for ongoing academic discussions but also of interest to a broader audience. Participants will also profit from attending the course with regard to learning how such a website works.

Added value for students and teaching

The attempt to examine networks of knowledge and to visualize them in view of new possibilities of
modern network analysis has not yet been attempted. Additionally, the didactic concept of Forschendes Lernen allows students to critically engage with the relevant sources against the backdrop of current scholarship to conduct individual research projects. In doing so, they potentially add to current collective efforts in scholarship to understand the mentioned networks via the innovative use of digital humanities. It provides participants with a wide area of new competencies, experiences and connections and will also provide new meaningful results in and for current historical and philosophical research (Grundlagenwissenschaften).

Factsheet

24_Bearers of Knowledge (PDF, 2 MB)