Writing Intercultural History of Christian Mission of the 19th and 20th Century: Concepts, Methods, and Politics. Reflections on a conception of an intercultural historiography of Christian mission in reference to postcolonial studies and critical whiteness studies

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Giovanni Maltese, since 6/2024
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 545954974

How shall we understand the critical of Andreas Nehring with his provoking question after an "end of mission history" and how should we react on it?! The project focuses on the question of how to conceptualize missionary historiography in the 19th and 20th centuries in order to avoid a (neo-)colonizing historicism that was developed in the 19th century and, influentially, has continued well into our 21st century. The international, interdenominational and intercultural research network refers to different regions and to concepts of intercultural historiography in a global perspective, which are represented by the participants. They were selected on the basis of the different confessional, cultural and political identities they bring with them. The certain concepts of a historiography of "intercultural mission history" is the result of processes in the reality of times and spaces. They are realizing experienced religious activities of individuals and social groups, reflected, and interpreted by the 16 networking colleagues themselves. The task will be to link together the 16 academic personalities (worldwide research-experiences), who are experienced members of various university faculties, used to certain different historiographical concepts, varying in their geographical fields of research and case-studies, and in their denominational expressions of an Intercultural History of Mission. The projects’ idea is to make use of these and bring them conceptionally together on a meta-level in a transcontinental / transregional and interdisciplinary joint venture of this academic network. The project is represented by 16 "historians of Christian past and presence" of various continental, national, Christian denominational, and specific historiographical concepts of research. The focus: How can we understand "intercultural theology" in relation to the definition and development of its first conceptualization in the 1970s and implement and develop it more comprehensively? The objective: We "re-define" the traditional concept of missionary historiography through various interculturally influenced methods and sub-concepts, which we want to acquire by adopting interdisciplinary perspectives in order to apply them where appropriate. The result: We will produce a "handbook" for students and teachers that will provide examples of the possibilities of the historiography of Christian mission, where their opportunities and respective limitations lie. What methods could be used to critically read and interpret the "History of Christian missions in the 19th and 20th centuries" recorded by others? How should ist trail be retraced?

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Moritz Fischer, until 6/2024