Conceptual Research Infrastructure
HISTONETICA approaches innovation not as a technical upgrade of existing research practices, but as a conceptual reorientation of historical knowledge production. The starting point is the insight that historical research advances not solely through the analysis of individual sources, but through the examination of the structures in which historical knowledge emerges, circulates, and is transformed.
This conceptual perspective requires methodological approaches that do not treat historical sources in isolation, but capture them as components of relational systems. Digital methods are not applied additively, but constitute an integral part of knowledge production: they make it possible to systematically model complex historical constellations, render them comparable, and analyse them across different contexts.
On this basis, HISTONETICA operates an independent research environment designed for long-term stability, transparency, and scalability. Central components include relational data structures for modelling historical relationships, as well as controlled procedures for the digitisation and scholarly processing of complex source corpora.
Scientific integrity forms the foundation of all developments at HISTONETICA. Transparency, provenance, and traceability are core principles of the research architecture: every source remains reconstructible in its origin and structure, and every analysis verifiable.
Our Contribution Works on Multiple Levels
01 — Research
New research questions through relational analysis of historical processes
HISTONETICA enables research questions that go beyond the analysis of individual sources. Through relational modelling, historical dynamics become visible that can only be understood through the interplay of actors, institutions, places, and materials.
02 — Education
Communicating historical complexity beyond linear narratives
The developed models and representations open up new forms of teaching and knowledge transfer. History is not conveyed as a sequence of isolated events, but as a networked process of historical knowledge formation.
03 — Society
Making historical relational structures visible
HISTONETICA contributes to a reflective culture of remembrance by showing how knowledge is produced, circulated, and institutionally shaped. Historical contexts become comprehensible, verifiable, and publicly accessible.
04 — Technology
Digital systems as epistemic tools
The technical infrastructure of HISTONETICA is not an end in itself, but part of the process of knowledge production. It translates conceptual models into stable, documented systems that make historical analysis scalable and reproducible.
From Source to Knowledge
Phase 1 – Digital Processing
Historical sources are processed in a structured form and transformed into an analysable data basis. The aim is not the mere reproduction of the original, but the controlled transformation of source material into a foundation for historical analysis.
Phase 2 – Structuring and Analysis
The processed data are organised, contextualised, and systematically related to one another. This produces analysable structures in which historical information no longer appears in isolation, but can be interpreted as part of broader contexts.
Phase 3 – Relational Modelling
Actors, places, institutions, objects, and events are integrated into relational knowledge models. This modelling makes visible historical dynamics that only emerge through the interconnection of multiple levels and contexts.
Phase 4 – Interpretation and Publication
The resulting models and analyses are made accessible through appropriate forms of presentation. Visualisations, networks, and texts do not serve as illustrations, but as instruments of scholarly interpretation and communication of historical processes.