C²DH – Innovating & Sharing History

Engaging and involving the public via a magazine:

An innovative graphical approach for the promotion of history research



How can we get the general public interested in contemporary history? That question was the starting point for the new magazine produced by the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History, a research centre at the University of Luxembourg.



In the field of academic research, brochures generally contain lengthy texts about the methodology behind research projects. They are full of scholarly terminology and few images are used to illustrate the ideas.



The C²DH was keen to make contemporary history research accessible and attractive to a broad public. The idea was to harness the power of images to attract the attention of history novices and spark an interest in the centre’s research topics.



The aim of the magazine is to elicit an emotional response from readers as they look at the images, making them want to find out more. The systematic use of QR codes gives readers an opportunity to go further and explore the centre’s virtual exhibitions, open access publications, digital applications and history-themed games. The magazine serves as a teaser to encourage as many people as possible to find out about the research performed by historians.



Why is this strategy important for the C²DH? Public history and academic outreach are an integral part of the C²DH’s identity. Sharing knowledge with the general public is crucial and contributes to the centre’s social and cultural impact in Luxembourg and beyond its borders.