Alltagsgeschichte

Alltagsgeschichte is a form of microhistory that was particularly prevalent amongst German historians during the 1980s.

The name comes from German, where "Alltag" means "everyday life"; it can thus be roughly translated as "everyday history".

In this sense, Alltagsgeschichte can be considered part of the wider Marxian historical school of 'history from below'.

The purpose of Alltagsgeschichte is to find and prove the links between the down-to-earth, everyday, basic experiences of ordinary people in a society, and the broad social and political changes which occur in that society. Because this is such a massively broad endeavour to undertake, it can only feasibly be practised on the most minute of scales. Thus Alltagsgeschichte becomes a form of microhistory.

Alltagsgeschichte can also be linked to the Italian historical doctrine of Microstoria (Microhistory).

Publications

*"The History of Everyday Life" by German historian Alf Lüdtke.