The International Congress of Historical Sciences (ICHS) prize was awarded to Professor Serge Gruzinski, a French historian on Wednesday during the 22nd ICHS in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan.

Serge Gruzinski, professor at the school of advanced studies in social sciences in France, is a specialist in the history of Latin America in the 16th to 18th centuries, and a pioneer in the development of global history and transnational history, the current main trends in the historical sciences.

While Gruzinski said he was pleased to win the prize, he is more excited about visiting China, which had been his wish for many years.

"We could not write a line of history, even the history of the Americas, without having in mind the past of this great country (China) and the scope - very often abysmal - of our ignorance," he said.

The congress started discussing the prize in 2011 to honor a distinguished historian or historians who had significantly contributed to the development of historical knowledge, according to Marjatta Hietala, President of ICHS.

Hietala said the prize was small scale but "comparable to the Nobel prize or the Field prize in mathematics" .

The ICHS enjoys a reputation for being the "Olympics of Historical Sciences." It has been held every five years since 1900, except during the World War I and World War II

The 22nd ICHS is the first time the Congress has been held in Asia. About 2,600 historians from around the world have participated. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)