Students and Young Professionals (SYP)
About us
We are SYP, the Students and Young Professionals in Applied History | Public History in the Working Group Applied History of the Association of German Historians (VHD).
Founded in 2015 in the course of a working group conference at the Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF) Potsdam, we see ourselves as a loose association of students, PhD students and young professionals in the field of applied history / public history.
With our perspectives we contribute to the work of the Working Group Applied History and the Association. We organize workshops and events on a local and national level, promote interdisciplinary exchange within and outside the university and connect the various locations of public history in Germany.
The spokesperson team holds the threads together at a national level, supports local activities and is re-elected every two years at the VHD Histotag. We always welcome new members and interested parties, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Who we are and what we do
SYP is a networking and interdisciplinary exchange community. Every two years we elect a team of speakers. We are also represented by a member of the Working Group Committee and contribute our perspective to the work of the Association.
The activities of SYP members take place at different levels and are flexible in terms of the form of involvement. The regional branches (including Berlin, Bochum, Cologne, Erfurt, Regensburg, Lucerne, Hamburg, Tübingen, etc…) organize events according to their interests and possibilities. In cross-location workshops on self-chosen topics, we exchange views on current issues in a low-hierarchical environment.
In addition to these activities, SYP offers a networking platform for joint visits to events, conferences or exhibitions and can also be used to search for activities in different cities.
The aim is to include as many perspectives as possible: different locations, different degree programmes, different professional backgrounds. Whether you are an undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD student or working in the field, anyone interested in getting involved is very welcome. We are always open in establishing networking with other initiatives or collaborating on events. Please get in touch if you would like to exchange ideas with other public historians or join our next online meeting!
News, events, announcements…
If you are interested, you can subscribe to our mailing list at https://lists.fu-berlin.de/listinfo/SYP-AGAGPH.
We will send you a newsletter with the latest news and event invites. Stay tuned!
Social Media
X: @SYPPH.
Bluesky: @sypph.bsky.social
Instagram: @agpublichistory
Local groups
Many universities where public history is taught have formed their own local SYP groups. They organize their own events or local get-togethers, for example.
Team
Since the last meeting held at the Historikertag in Leipzig in September 2023, the SYP Team consists of the following persons:
Annika Häberlein, Federal spokesperson
Annika Häberlein has been part of the SYP since 2021 and part of the Federal Spokesperson Team since 2023. She completed her Master’s degree in Public History in Cologne and joined the Public History team there as a research assistant and doctoral candidate in April 2023. Her research interests range from cultural heritage and museum history education to Jewish history and culture. Her current PhD project focuses on the communication of history in public space and it’s forms of transformation and participation in the late 20th and early 21st century. In her private life, cookbooks are her favourite collecting object, and it is not without reason that those around her like to call her a ‘foodie’.
Catharina Köhnke, Federal spokesperson
Catharina has been a member since 2023, studied in Berlin, Mendoza and Hamburg, is currently the coordinator of “coronArchivare” (a project for historical-political education and empowerment of young people) and researches the interfaces between historical theory and public history. She enjoys drinking good coffee and loves to relax on backpacking trips (on Twitter @cata_kombe)
Elias Nüse, Representative on the committee of the AG Angewandte Geschichte Public History
Elias started working in the SYP spokesperson team at national level two years ago. At the time, he was a Master’s student of Public History in Cologne. He has now completed his Master’s degree and is an exhibition coordinator at a contemporary history museum. His research interests were and are museum objects – whether material or musical. He also enjoys drinking cappuccino and photography.
Cristina Urucu, Federal spokesperson
Cristina joined the SYP as a spokesperson at the 2021 Historikertag. She studied History and Public History at the FU Berlin and is currently studying Comparative Literature and Romance Languages and Literatures. She is trained in Strategies for European Cultural Heritage at the European University Viadrina and can spontaneously start talking enthusiastically about the preservation of modern graffiti or the latest digitisation strategies for cultural assets over a glass of machalatte or espresso. She is quite interdisciplinary and organizes independent projects in cooperation with museums and memorials on contemporary historical topics, monument protection and the culture of remembrance in Berlin.