PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

This article aims to explore the value of modeling as a research practice in history and its relationship to practices of comparing and ordering, and to make these theoretical frameworks more explicit. It addresses the implicit models present in historical writings and the materials that provide insights into historical actors’ practices. Modeling is crucial for sense-making in scientific and humanistic disciplines, such as his- tory. But models are not neutral representations; they are rather restrictive, simplified, and sometimes ideological. The key is to make modeling practices explicit. The article presents two different examples of practices of modeling: (1) Lucas Cranach the Elder’s 16th-century painting Damnation and Redemption, and (2) modeling practices in digital history. Both examples show that modeling practices are closely linked to practices of comparing.