The Observatory aims to systematically record events, often confrontational in nature, reflecting the ongoing public debates about history. On many occasions, sometimes anniversaries, sometimes events caused by the media or others related to the political situation and the country's relations with its neighbours, issues of history and memory emerge in public opinion and attract the public’s attention. Often, these questions take on the form of debates and controversies, or even wars of history and/or memory. This is a phenomenon observed in many countries around the world, especially in recent years when the media and the internet assumed a central role in creating images of the past. From the U.S. to Japan and Australia, history is the focus of intense public conflicts. Historians have been led to court for their opinions, history textbooks have become the target of cruel criticism, controversial historical knowledge is abundantly offered online, while at the same time commemoration dates are being adopted or eliminated and monuments for historical events and historical figures are subject to vandalism. In Greece, too, the historical past is the subject of almost daily clashes, whether it’s about textbooks, national holidays, or TV series, etc. The Observatory aims to decisively contribute to the systematic monitoring of these cultural developments taking place in Greek society, and especially on issues of national identity.
The purpose of the Observatory is the establishment of a database and the correlation of data with both the historical discipline and their particular social and political contexts.
The establishment of the Observatory in the Research Centre for Modern History (KENI) and particularly within the Unit for the Study of Historical Culture, aims to provide the academic community but also to anyone interested (teacher, journalist, etc.) the necessary documentation on Public History. Its function will also be extremely useful for teacher training (either primary or secondary education) and journalists, so as to enable them to handle historical issues that arise at school or in the media and which provoke an interest of the wider public, as well as smaller or bigger crises.
The Observatory’s research activities began on 1 October 2012.
