History – Schoemann

05/11/202604/11/2026

Swing or Flip

With the voting in mid-term elections of the US Congress and Senate being counted, we notice a shift in the language of the commentators. Whereas in previous elections of the Houses it was common to use the term “swing states” for a federal state that changed its majority from Democrats (blue) to Republicans (red), the 2026-11-3 elections referred to “flipped states”. What’s the significance of this? The metaphor of a “swing” assumes a kind of alternation of back and forth movements, which can be associated with a state changing political colors from election to the other. The metaphor of the “flip” might be associated more with the “flip side” of a piece of paper or a record. You might prefer the titles on one side more than the others. In the 2026-11-3 elections Democrats managed to turn long-standing Republic states (Kansas, Ohio) to vote for Democrats. They managed to captured dissatisfied or betrayed former Republican voters and thereby flipped states that have long traditions to vote Republican. Actually, these flipped states were turned into swing states which they have not been for many decades as the swing had been blocked on the Republican’s side.

31/10/202630/10/2026

From A/H to P/E

The fashion world follows a rather strict bi-seasonal sequence every year. The French abbreviations of automne/hiver and printemps/été translate to fall/winter (F/W) and spring/summer (S/S) seasons in American English. This cycle has been repeated for a remarkable 125 years until 2026. Thanks to the Vitra Design Museum and the V & A Dundee the occasion has been celebrated with an exhibition and catalogue on the history and art of fashion show. The outstanding catalogue is organized in alphabetical order as the A-Z of fashion. The 4 curators Eisenbrand, Krawczyk, Hassard, Panova present a volume with a focus on keywords explaining major terms of the fashion world like “haute couture” as well as direct entries to specific designers and brands. The well curated choice of fabulous and iconic images from catwalks across time, locations and continents illustrate a world built on visual codes and communication. The “Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture” (1945) defined which fashion houses could use the label in France, a definition copied across countries. It works as a way to control access as well as a certain definition of quality. The scope of the exhibition catalogue includes also Anti-fashion under A, backstage photography (B), to the not so simple Walk under W.
With some additional social science framing and thanks to the curators, we have moved an important step towards a sociology of the visual, which comprises the world of fashion.

catwalk fashion shows catalog 2026 in library — Catwalk – fashion shows catalog 2026 in library

27/10/202626/10/2026

Systems of thinking

The translation of the title of the “chair” created for Michel Foucault at the “College de France” sounds rather all encompassing. He worked during the years 1970-1984 at the institute, which were particularly innovative in terms of new concepts to look at society. With the massive protests of students in the streets of Paris in 2026-10, the exhibition of Foucault’s life course, his major contributions, legacy and audio-visual material are presented in a small exhibition. Foucault was one of the social scientists who had a research interest in the student protests of 1968 already.
In the exhibition it is possible to inspect central pages of the hand-written originals of some of his lectures. In the late 60s and 70s tape recording became feasible and such recordings helped to spread his ideas quickly. As Foucault was a master of contextualisation of societal procedures, like for example imprisonment, the curators of the exhibition present a few samples of Foucault’s own library (image below) and examples of correspondence with his network of social scientists, like Roland Barthes or Raymond Aron. In 2026 the thoughts on “gouvernementalité” (own translation “governability”) still speak to current politics. That is a great half-life-value of social thought.

Examples of Foucault book collection at his home College de France 2026

23/10/202622/10/2026

Alphabet as Mythos

The exhibition ”Georges Perec, Modes d’emploi“ at the BNF “site François Mitterrand” in Paris gives a fascinating insight into the complex life and work of the author of “La Disparition” (1968), “Les Revenantes” (1972), ”La Clôture”, “Alphabets” and “La vie mode d’emploi” (1978). In remembrance of his parents (eux) he wrote a whole book using only words without the first letter of “eux” which expressed how much he missed his parents. His mother was deported to and died in Auschwitz before he was 7 years old and his father had died in combat 3 years before. For the book “Les Revenentes“ (the returnees) he made use only of words containing the vowel “e” to somehow fill the previous gaps of words without the letter e. The preparatory work to collect those words (image below) filled pages as well. His poems explored combinations of letters, maybe even as a precursor of how AI is constructing words from small units (tokens) today. His quasi-experimental approach to literature goes deep into locations and emphasises the importance to remember at great length. So many lessons for us, which are simply built from the foundation of the alphabet to construct a mythical world of his own. (Image: Georges Perec, preparation for “Les Revenantes”, BNF Manuscript)

Georges-Perec-preparation-for-Les-Revenantes-BNF-Manuscript

22/10/202621/10/2026

Delors White Paper revisited

The former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors had prepared a white paper (1993) to guide economic reforms for the next few years from 1994 onwards. The report covered macroeconomic recommendations to spur growth, to improve competitiveness and create employment opportunities. The report achieved a balance between the 3 fields with an additional emphasis on sustainability. Based on the simulations of several macroeconomic models it became clear, that “… easing of the burden of statutory charges, which would be introduced as part of active employment policies, would have to be offset by tax measures so as not to swell budget deficits.” (p.157). A special emphasis was on job creation across all ages. Countries submitted comments and implementation plans which were published as an Annex also in multiple languages.
Recent discussions on the so-called 28^th regime or a single simplified European Incorporation (EU-Inc) try to cut red tape in access to the European Single Market by creating a single company valid across the whole EU. However, it became quite clear that a separate and additional jurisdiction just for this EU-Inc would create additional administrative burdens of parallel courts and jurisdictions. Additionally, such an EU-Inc would open up ample possibilities of fraudulent evasion of taxes and social security contributions for businesses just created for this purpose from across the world. Sweden just had a hard time and succeeded in 2026 to dismantle a fraudulent network of Russian businesses set up in Sweden alone. Paris just picked a battle against fast fashion Chinese business SHEIN. Policing the EU-Inc across Europe would need thousands of additional persons and might disenchant many Europeans about the potentials of the European Single Market. (Image: Jacques Delors Centre Discussion of 28th Regime in Paris 2026-10-14)

Jacques Delors Centre Discussion of 28th Regime in Paris 2026-10-14

21/10/202620/10/2026

Mitterrand literary

François Mitterrand is well remembered for his polititical leadership and of 14 years at the Presidency of France. He left behind a legacy of architectural highlights of which the 4 open books as the modern world idea about a cathedral size public library. The prolongation of the “Axe historique” to “La Défense” originated also in Mitterrand’s first term in office. However, only few would know about the literary ambitions and accomplishments of François Mitterrand. The Institut François Mitterrand organized a conference on the literary achievements of Mitterrand an his eloquent style and careful editing of speeches, his letters and journal writing (2026-10-16). The expert panel highlighted the literary sources of Mitterrand’s own reading and references to authors like Zola, Camus, Proust, Stendhal, Blum, Jaurès, Chateaubriand or also the letters of Simone de Beauvoir, to name but a few. The appreciation of the politician François Mitterrand by a German language author (Kimmel 2022) allows to get more familiar with an “external view” of a great politician, who ensured that also the enlarged Europe would still have a solid French foundation. Merci. Maybe Mitterrand has been the founder of a “literary leadership style”. Possibly in close resemblance to the antique or Roman vision to have philosophers as states(wo)man.

Institut François Mitterrand colloque 2026-10-16 Paris BNF

20/10/202619/10/2026

Imagery of animals

The imagery of animals by humans is most likely the oldest art tradition that have left traces to our time. The oldest images of animals can be admired in caves, on pottery or jewellery. Since the early days there have always been a blend of reality and mythology when representing animals and the animal world. Beyond hunting of animals, the biological interest in animals has fascinated many artists as well. Just as we are about to redefine the borders between human and artificial intelligence, the history of depiction of animals and humans is full of examples of blending characteristics of each or ascribing characteristics of one species onto another one. The “Galerie Mazarin” of the BNF in Paris (2026-27) shows a fine selection of art work across centuries which exemplifies this co-evolution of artistic representations and the creation of mythical narratives through the imagery of animals. (Image: Albrecht Dürer, BNF Rhinocerus 1515)

Albrecht Duerer 1515 Rhinocerus BNF 2026-10 — Albrecht Dürer 1515 Rhinocerus BNF 2026-10

17/10/202616/10/2026

Intergenerational peace

Law and courts serve the function of appeasement beyond the role of delivering judgements. Particularly in the realm of the International Court of Justice the dealing with crimes against humanity and their prosecution is hindered by lack of broad recognition and its force of implementation. Therefore, the international system of jurisdiction has to be explained over and over again to distance the practice of International criminal law and of justice implemented by who has won a war. Philippe Sands was awarded the peace prize of the German book trade association 2026-10. For some time already, he has become a major personality to explain and thereby defend the international criminal law by means of embedding international law into his fact-driven accounts of crimes against humanity. Since the Nuremberg trials to judge Nazi-terror, the task to continue to explain the horrors and atrocities in all emotions merits the broadest attention. The threats to humanity continue also in Europe and the voices of outspoken defenders of intergenerational peace on earth are dearly needed. (Image: extract of The last judgement by Jean Bellegambe 1520 Gemäldegalerie Berlin)

extract of The last judgement by Jean Bellegambe 1520 Gemäldegalerie Berlin

14/10/202612/10/2026

Self-publishing as resistance

Self-publishing has been the title of a historical account of the Czech publishing since the Nazi occupation of Czechia since 1939 (mfk-frankfurt.de). Forced into exile or clandestine underground publishing, many publishers and authors had no other option than to go it by themselves. The underground press during the Soviet union dominated communist rule in Czechia had to rely on similar methods, since censorship as well as persecution were a consequence of illegal writing and publishing activities. In the 21st century self-publishing has become much easier, but the persecution even beyond national borders continues to be a threat in many parts of the world.
Platforms that enable a visibility beyond publishing houses and institutional support broaden the scope for authors to reach various audiences as part of democracy’s vitality and preparedness. Who knows about the grip on publishing of authoritarian and autocratic regimes in advance and their thirst to curb alternative opinions? Historical evidence points to the need to have self-publishing and publishing in exile as an important additional defence mechanism of democracies (Image: Czechia pavilion at Frankfurt book fair 2026)

Czechia pavilion Frankfurt book fair publishing 2026

03/10/202602/10/2026

Gaps in Mirror

The legendary figure of “Till Eulenspiegel” (name is a composition of “owl” and “mirror”) is still attracting attention, largely because of his way to reach and sometimes expose ordinary anomalies. We have mirrors all around us, as well as explicit historical details, but we tend to overlook or create voluntarily gaps into mirrored images of the past and their reflections into the present. The novel “The Gaps” (Die Lücken) by Shida Bazyar exemplifies, why dealing with history on a local level is of utmost importance for societies to be aware, deal and transmit fundamental human values. Till Eulenspiegel of the 21^st century has a migration background and experience of care work, 2 fields at the cutting edge of humanity. Dealing with the gaps in narratives of locals enters visually into the novel as well. We ar caught t “automatic lly” read ov r the g__s before we realize how huge the gaps in narratives and our mirrors of the past can be. The novel is a great reminder to actively deal with our own gaps. Check the mirrors as well, there might be gaps that blur images of the past.

Category: History

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