Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the historiographical issues when including the teaching of economics in our narratives. Harro Maas presents his own case study of a witness seminar he co-directed, a new mode of examining a particular historical event or episode currently finding its way into both political history and the history of science. The chapter provides three examples for what could be called "material" historiographies, which are in particularly inspired by writings rooted in the history of science. Verena Halsmayer's contribution examines economic knowledge as artefacts. Such constructs as models, graphs, pictures, metaphors etc. themselves have histories, and travel over time into different settings where they may have different uses. As the history of economics community is an increasingly virtual community, its communication practices have also changed, a fact that opens new ways to "do" history of economics.