Hartmut Lehmann (born April 29, 1936) is a German historian of
modern history
The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...
who specializes in
religious
Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...
and
social history
Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians.
Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading f ...
. He is known for his research on
Pietism
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life.
Although the movement is ali ...
,
secularization
In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
, religion and
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
,
transatlantic studies Transatlantic studies refers to the relatively recent educational discipline studying the economic, cultural, political, and social linkages between Atlantic countries, often the United States and Europe
Europe is a continent located entirel ...
and
Martin Luther
Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
. He was the founding director of the
German Historical Institute Washington DC and was a director of the
Max Planck Institute for History
The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity (German language, German: ''Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung multireligiöser und multiethnischer Gesellschaften'') is located in Göttingen, Germany. It is one of 83 ins ...
. He is an emeritus honorary professor at
Kiel University
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...
and the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
.
Life and career
Born on April 29, 1936, in
Reutlingen
Reutlingen (; ) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous Reutlingen (district), district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it had an estimated population of 116,456. Reutlingen has a Reutlingen University, univ ...
in
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
, he completed his Abitur at the Nargolder Gymnasium in
Nagold
Nagold () is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the '' Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is recorded for the first time in a historical document dating back to ...
in 1955 and was an exchange student in
Cortland, New York
Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York, United States. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of 2024, the estimated population of Cortland, New York, is 17,196, reflecting a dec ...
(1952/1953).
Lehmann first studied history, English, German, political science and philosophy at the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
and went on to study at the
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
and
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and later again at Tübingen. Lehmann completed his habilitation at the
University of Köln under the direction of Adam Wandruszka.
Lehmann was a university lecturer at the
University of Köln, a guest professor at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, and a research fellow at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
before becoming a professor at
Kiel University
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...
. During this time of professorship, Lehmann also had research fellowships and was a guest professor at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
in Canberra,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
.
Lehmann moved to
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, to become the founding director of the
German Historical Institute Washington DC from 1987 to 1993. Lehmann helped the institution gain academic independence and facilitated its incorporation into American academics. Lehmann also became the managing director and was a member of the
Max-Planck-Institute for History in the 1990s.
For several years, Lehmann taught as an honorary professor at both
Kiel University
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...
and the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
until his retirement in 2004. Since his retirement, he has been a guest professor at several universities, including
Emory University
Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
,
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
,
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
,
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
, and
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...
.
Awards
*Honorary Member of the
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...
(2020)
*Honorary Doctorate in Theology,
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...
(2017)
*Honorary Doctorate in Theology,
Lund University
Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...
(2017)
*Honorary Doctorate in Theology (Dr. theol. h. c.),
University of Basel
The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...
(1999)
*Member of the
Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The Göttingen Academy of Sciences (name since 2023 : )Note that the German ''Wissenschaft'' has a wider meaning than the English "Science", and includes Social sciences and Humanities. is the oldest continuously existing institution among the eig ...
*International Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
(1995–present)
Selected works
Monographs
*''Österreich-Ungarn und die belgische Frage im ersten Weltkrieg''. 1959 (Dissertation,
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
, 1959).
*''Pietismus und weltliche Ordnung in Württemberg vom 17. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert.'' Kohlhammer, Stuttgart u. a. 1969 (Habilitation, University of Köln, 1967).
*''Das Zeitalter des Absolutismus. Gottesgnadentum und Kriegsnot'' (= Christentum und Gesellschaft. Bd. 9). Kohlhammer, Stuttgart u. a. 1980, ISBN 3-17-005813-4.
*''Martin Luther in the American Imagination'' (= American Studies. Bd. 63). Fink, München 1988, ISBN 3-7705-2478-0.
*''Alte und neue Welt in wechselseitiger Sicht. Studien zu den transatlantischen Beziehungen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert'' (= Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte. Bd. 119). Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen 1995, ISBN 3-525-35433-9.
*''Max Webers „Protestantische Ethik“. Beiträge aus der Sicht eines Historikers'' (= Kleine Vandenhoeck-Reihe. Bd. 1579). Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1996, ISBN 3-525-33575-X.
*''Protestantische Weltsichten. Transformationen seit dem 17. Jahrhundert. Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht'', Göttingen 1998, ISBN 3-525-01373-6.
*''Protestantisches Christentum im Prozeß der Säkularisierung.'' Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-36250-1
*''Säkularisierung. Der europäische Sonderweg in Sachen Religion'' (= Bausteine zu einer europäischen Religionsgeschichte im Zeitalter der Säkularisierung. Bd. 5). Wallstein-Verlag, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-89244-820-5 (2., erweiterte Auflage. ebenda 2007, ISBN 978-3-89244-820-4).
*''Transformationen der Religion in der Neuzeit. Beispiele aus der Geschichte des Protestantismus'' (= Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte. Bd. 230). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-35885-6.
*''Die Entzauberung der Welt. Studien zu Themen von Max Weber'' (= Bausteine zu einer europäischen Religionsgeschichte im Zeitalter der Säkularisierung. Bd. 11). Wallstein-Verlag, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8353-0456-7.
*''Religiöse Erweckung in gottferner Zeit. Studien zur Pietismusforschung'' (= Bausteine zu einer europäischen Religionsgeschichte im Zeitalter der Säkularisierung. Bd. 12). Wallstein-Verlag, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8353-0597-7.
*''Das Christentum im 20. Jahrhundert. Fragen, Probleme, Perspektiven'' (= Kirchengeschichte in Einzeldarstellungen. Abt. 4: Neueste Kirchengeschichte. Bd. 9). Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, Leipzig 2012, ISBN 978-3-374-02500-8.
*''Luthergedächtnis 1817 bis 2017'' (= Refo500. Bd. 8). Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen u. a. 2012, ISBN 978-3-525-55039-7.
*''Das Reformationsjubiläum 2017''. Umstrittenes Erinnern (= Refo500. Bd. 70). Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen 2021, ISBN 978-3-525-56038-9.
Edited Volumes
*with
James J. Sheehan, ''An Interrupted Past : German-Speaking Refugee Historians in the United States after 1933'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991.
*with William R. Hutchinson, ''Many are chosen : divine election and western nationalism'', Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1994.
*with
Guenther Roth
Guenther Roth (German spelling Günther Roth; 12 January 1931 – 18 May 2019) was a German-American sociologist. He was recognized as the leading scholar, translator and editor of the work of Max Weber in the English-speaking world; together with ...
, ''Weber's Protestant Ethic: Origins, Evidence, Contexts'', Cambridge England: German Historical Institute; Cambridge University Press. 1995.
*with R. Po-Chia Hsia, ''In and Out of the Ghetto: Jewish-Gentile Relations in Late Medieval and Early Modern Germany'' Washington D.C. Cambridge: German Historical Institute; Cambridge University Press.
* with
Veer Peter van der, ''Nation and Religion : Perspectives on Europe and Asia''. Princeton (New Jersey): Princeton University Press. 1999.
*with Van Horn Melton, James, ''Paths of Continuity: Central European Historiography from the 1930s to the 1950s'' Cambridge University Press. 2003.
*with Otto Gerhard Oexle: Nationalsozialismus in den Kulturwissenschaften. 2 Bände. Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004;
*Volume 1: Fächer, Milieus, Karrieren (= Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte. Bd. 200). 2004, ISBN 3-525-35198-4;
*Volume 2: Leitbegriffe – Deutungsmuster – Paradigmenkämpfe. Erfahrungen und Transformationen im Exil (= Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte. Bd. 211). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-35862-8.
*with Hermann Wellenreuther, ''In Search of Peace and Prosperity: New German Settlements in Eighteenth-Century Europe and America'', Penn State Press, University Park, 2010.
*with
Andreas W. Daum,
James J. Sheehan: The Second Generation. Émigrés from Nazi Germany as Historians. With a Biobibliographic Guide. New York 2016, ISBN 978-1-78238-985-9.
*with James Van Horn Melton and Johnathan Strom, ''Pietism in Germany and North America 1680–1820'', London and New York, Routledge, 2019.
References
External links
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hartmut Lehmannat
Kiel University
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...
Interview mit Hartmut Lehmannzum Thema: "Neubeginn und Entwicklung der deutschen Geschichtswissenschaft in den 1950/60er Jahren"
Hartmut Lehmann, “1517–2017: Martin Luther’s Great Anniversary in an Age of Religious Pluralism & Secularization”-Dean’s Lecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Hartmut
Living people
1936 births
University of Tübingen alumni
University of Vienna alumni
Alumni of the University of Bristol
University of Cologne alumni
Academic staff of the University of Kiel
Academic staff of the University of Göttingen
German historians
20th-century German historians
21st-century German historians
German Historical Institute, Washington, DC
Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Max Planck Institute directors