The Archives of Rural History

The Archives of Rural History (ARH) are an independent institute active in archiving of sources, scientific research and the dissemination of information and knowledge. Since its foundation in 2002, the first "virtual" archives in Switzerland have developed into a centre of archiving and historical research on rural society. The ARH are insofar a "virtual" archive as the archival holdings we catalogued are usually deposited in state archives or kept by the creators of the records themselves.

The collaborators

• Peter Moser, director: CV (PDF), list of publications (PDF)
• Juri Auderset, together with the director responsable for the research: CV (PDF), list of publications (PDF)
• Hans-Ulrich Schiedt, senior researcher: CV (PDF), list of publications (PDF)
• Tony Varley, senior researcher.
• Claudia Schreiber, together with the director responsable for the records management and the archiving (analog, digital): CV (PDF)
• Andreas Wigger, scientific collaborator.
• Florian Brodard, scientific collaborator.
• Olivier Felber, scientific collaborator.
• Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh, senior researcher.

The email addresses are as follows: first name.name - at - agrararchiv.ch

Cooperation partners

The ARH work in close cooperation with partners in Switzerland and abroad. The ARH are, for example, one of the founding members of the European Rural History Organisation EURHO and initiated both, the Swiss Rural History Society SRHS in 2009 and the European Rural History Film Association ERHFA in 2017. The ARH provide, furthermore, the management of the Database and the Online-Portal of the ERHFA and the director of the ARH, Peter Moser, is President of the ERHFA. Moreover, Peter Moser is an elected member of the executive committee of the Agricultural History Society in the USA and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of agricultural Museums, AIMA.

In the field of archiving, we cooperate with the Swiss Federal Archives SFA, most of the state archives as well as with special archives such as the Swiss Economic Archives SWA and the Swiss National Library NL. In the online film and photo portals set up by the AHR, 35 Swiss and foreign institutions present historical films on rural society and photos of animals at work

In research, the ARH cooperate with domestic and foreign research institutions. Juri Auderset holds the Associate Lectureship in 19th and 20th Century History at the University of Bern and Sandro Guzzi-Heeb, member of the Board of the ARH, maintains the Pôle de recherche: études rurales et alpines at the University of Lausanne. Current research projects are carried out in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT in Boston (USA), the National University of Ireland NUI in Galway, the Institute for Rural History IGLR in St. Pölten and the Institute of History at the University of Bern.

Evaluations, awards, portraits

In 2016, the Swiss Science Council evaluated the ARH on behalf of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and came to the conclusion, that the ARH are a research institution of "national importance" and "an indispensable link between the creators of the records and the state archives". It fulfils tasks that are "not performed by any other institute in Switzerland".

More

In recognition of "its international orientation and unique position" as a centre of historical research, the German Society for Agricultural History awarded the ARH and its director the AgrarKulturerbe Prize in 2014.

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