Historische Übungen and the Making of the Ranke School

Leopold von Ranke’s “historical seminar” significantly contributed to the scientification and professionalization of historical study. However, as a form of teaching, Ranke’s historical seminar in the nineteenth century did not correspond to the German historisches Seminar, the officially approved and supported institution established at German-speaking universities. Rather, it corresponded to the German historische Übungen (historical exercises). In nineteenth-century German universities, these historical exercises complemented lectures as a work-based course in which students learned to engage critically with sources, conduct independent research, and develop historical thinking, thereby embodying the essence of the discipline/science of history. By reconstructing the pedagogical form and intellectual dynamics of these exercises—especially those led by Ranke and Georg Waitz—this article argues that they were decisive in shaping the Ranke school and in enabling the German historiography to advance beyond that of other countries.