How does migration history change when it is written with digital sources and methods? This question is at the heart of the 2026 summer university at the German Historical Institute Paris. As the field increasingly works with large, often multilingual corpora, the programme brings together contributions that explore a wide range of sources—from administrative records and correspondence to databases—and examine how these can be transformed and analysed as data. Approaches such as text analysis, spatial visualisation and network analysis open up new perspectives on mobility, trajectories and social relations.
At the same time, digital methods raise fundamental methodological and epistemological questions. Issues of data modelling and categorisation intersect with problems of bias, uneven coverage and the limits of digitised sources. The summer school therefore emphasises critical reflection, combining empirical case studies with discussions on source criticism, transparency and contextualisation.
The programme is framed by hands-on workshops on OCR/HTR, GIS and digital data processing, as well as keynote lectures by Lorella Viola and Christoph Rass.
Both keynotes will be streamed via Zoom:
22.06.2026, Dr. Lorella Viola, Mapping Migrant Worlds
25.06.2026, Prof. Dr. Christoph A. Rass, How Migration Became Data, How Data Makes Meaning, and How Reflexive Migration Research Intervenes
Event in English and French. Paper titles indicate the language of presentation.
On-site attendance is open to the public without registration (except workshops).
Registration and information: dh@dhi-paris.fr
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