English summary: This volume discusses and compares alternative approaches of a trans-national historiography from comparative history to histories of Europe, post-colonial studies, and global history. German description: Die Internationalisierung der Geschichtswissenschaft schreitet voran. Zunehmend orientiert sie sich an transnationalen Fragestellungen und globalen Zusammenhangen. Dieser Band zieht eine Zwischenbilanz der aktuellen Entwicklung. Vom historischen Vergleich uber die europaische Geschichte und die Postcolonial Studies bis zu globalgeschichtlichen Perspektiven stellen die Autoren die wichtigsten Konzepte einer transnationalen Historiographie vor. Daneben werden Felder der Geschichtswissenschaft behandelt, in denen transnationale Perspektiven eine lange Tradition haben - wie die judische Geschichte, die Intellectual History, die Geschichte multinationaler Unternehmen und die Konsumgeschichte - oder vergleichende und beziehungsgeschichtliche Fragen in den letzten Jahren erheblich an Bedeutung gewonnen haben - wie die historische Nationalismusforschung, die Arbeitergeschichte, die Geschichte der Zivilgesellschaft oder die Geschichte kollektiver Erinnerungen. Schliesslich werden Ansatze wie die Kulturgeschichte oder die Mikrogeschichte, die sich gegen internationalisierende Zugriffe zu sperren scheinen, in ihrer transnationalen Dimension diskutiert.

Since the 1970s West German historiography has been one of the main arenas of international comparative history. It has produced important empirical studies particularly in social history as well as methodological and theoretical reflections on comparative history. During the last twenty years however, this approach has felt pressure from two sources: cultural historical approaches, which stress microhistory and the construction of cultural transfer on the one hand, global history and transnational approaches with emphasis on connected history on the other. This volume introduces the reader to some of the major methodological debates and to recent empirical research of German historians, who do comparative and transnational work.

Although some historians have been researching and writing history from a transnational perspective for more than a century, it is only recently that this approach has gained momentum. But what is transnational history? How can a transnational approach be applied to historical study? Pierre Yves Saunier's dynamic introductory volume conveys the diversity of the developing field of transnational history, and the excitement of doing research in that direction. Saunier surveys the key concepts, methods and theories used by historians, helping students to find their own way in this vibrant area.

This second volume of the Yearbook of Transnational History offers readers new perspectives on historical research. This Yearbook is the only periodical worldwide dedicated to the publication of research in the field of transnational history.

From a decidedly multidisciplinary perspective, the articles in Transnational Political Spaces address the notion that political space is no longer fully congruent with national borders. Instead there are areas called transnational political spaces—caused by factors such as migration and social transformation—where policy occurs oblivious to national pressure. Organized into three sections—transnational actors, transnational spaces, and critical encounters—this volume explains how these spaces are formed and defined and how they can be traced and conceptualized. Aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive gehen die Beiträge der Frage nach, wie transnationale politische Räume hervorgebracht und gestaltet werden. Dabei sind diese nicht rein territorial definiert: Einbezogen werden Identitäten und Interaktionen, die nationale Grenzen überschreiten – wie sie etwa durch Migration entstehen.

Museumswissenschaft, Museumsanalyse, Museumsgeschichte, Museumstheorien ... – neben Bezeichnungen wie Museologie und Museumskunde haben in den letzten Jahren Komposita Verwendung gefunden, die vor allem eines vor Augen führen: das zunehmende wissenschaftliche Interesse an Museen. Bis heute kehrt dabei das Argument stets wieder, dass die Institution maßgeblicher Schauplatz nationaler Identitätsbildung gewesen sei. Der Band rückt hingegen das Museum als Produkt grenzüberschreitender Austausch- und Transferprozesse von circa 1750 bis 1940 in den Mittelpunkt.

Recent debates have used the concept of “transnational history” to broaden research on historical subjects that transcend national boundaries and encourage a shift away from official inter-state interactions to institutions, groups, and actors that have been obscured. This approach proves particularly fruitful for the dynamic field of global gender and women’s history. By looking at the restless lives and work of women’s activists in informal border-crossings, ephemeral NGOs, the lower management of established international organizations, and other global networks, this volume reflects the potential of a new perspective that allows for a more adequate analysis of transnational activities. By pointing out cultural hierarchies, the vicissitudes of translation and re-interpretation, and the ambiguity of intercultural exchange, this volume demonstrates the critical potential of transnational history. It allows us to see the limits of universalist and cosmopolitan claims so dear to many historical actors and historians.