Oben und unten, vorne und hinten. Zur historischen Verortung ländlicher Gesellschaften.

This contribution problematizes the arbitrary hierarchical structuring of historical space, which poses considerable problems for us as historians or social scientists. How can we analyse the history of rural society in an unbiased way if it is stereotypically located «below» and the city positioned «above»? And if, on the linear scale of progress, rural development is usually seen «behind» the city? The extent to which such ideas need to be revised is demonstrated, on the one hand, by the history of sexuality. For example, the spread of knowledge about birth control has not always followed the model of diffusion from top to bottom («sunk culture»). Rather, horizontal movements can be traced in which rural society appears as an independent actor. On the other hand, we show that rural culture and economy were subject to characteristic revaluations in the course of the modernisation process, changing but not abolishing traditional hierarchies. Thus, traditional forms of exploiting nature, which were long considered economically backward, are now valued as ecologically valuable. Finally, we draw attention to historiographical lines of tradition that overcome the dualistic model and instead emphasize the dynamic and changing interactions between differently structured spaces and societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]