The section

The Section of Neohellenic Research (SNR) of the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) was founded by C. Th. Dimaras in 1960 as the Center for Neohellenic Research (KNE). Its aim was to study and document the history of Modern Hellenism from the 15th to the 19th century. A parallel goal was to establish Modern Greek historical studies as an autonomous scientific field in Greece and abroad, independently of the study of ancient and Byzantine history. For C. Th. Dimaras, it was imperative to systematically turn to primary documentation, compile a coherent corpus of sources, and develop research tools. This involved the concept of a “national inventory,” the need to create infrastructure, and the production of “good tools.” In its early stages, the then KNE served these scientific goals, with a desire to overturn the traditional historiography of the time and the ways of approaching modern Greek cultural history. The major chapters of popular historiography focused on the Modern Greek Enlightenment, the formation of national consciousness and Modern Greek ideology, cultural intersections, and the intertwining of popular and literary culture. The aim was to establish a “science of modern Greek affairs” by drawing on the achievements of European historiography; a comprehensive study of modern Hellenism, with an emphasis on the history of ideas and mentalities.

Today, traces of the Demaric approaches are still visible, despite the fact that the research directions of the current Section of Neohellenic Research of the unified Institute of Historical Research have been significantly enriched with new fields of knowledge, innovative approaches, and new methodologies.

The SNR currently works in close collaboration with the other two Sections of the IHR, studying Greek history through time using related research approaches. The current objectives of the SNR are:

• The detection, identification, and indexing of new historical sources and new evidence, their critical interpretation, and their re-evaluation.
• To strengthen and expand the research fields of political, social, economic, and cultural history related to the history of Modern Hellenism, contemporary Greece, and the Ottoman world, within the broader Balkan, European, and Mediterranean context.
• Cultivating established fields of knowledge with new methodological tools, such as the history of books and libraries, the study of philology and literature, the history of science, cultural transfers and the history of communities, the history of translation and the study of historiography.
• The further development of fields such as contemporary Greek political history, the history of technology, and the history of institutions.
• The promotion of interdisciplinary and specialized approaches and the development of new, complex fields of research, such as the history of movement and migration, the history of everyday life, the history of economic networks and intercultural relations, and the ideological use of sound and music.
• The development of new methodologies for the study of space, such as digital cartography and environmental history.

The research work of the SNR is carried out by the research staff of the IHR, in collaboration with highly specialized scientists. It is funded by Greek and international competitive research programs, grants, and other resources. The dissemination and discussion of research results with the academic community takes place through conferences, seminars, and summer schools. The research results of the SNR are published in a series of independent publications in Greek and foreign languages, which are supplemented by conference proceedings, the publication of the annual C.Th. Dimaras lecture, and special anniversary publications, such as the series “Historical Library 1821.” Of particular importance is the annual peer-reviewed foreign-language scientific journal Historical Review / Revue Historique, which is published in print and electronic form, in order to discuss issues of modern and contemporary Greek history and culture with international interlocutors.