Construir ciudad. La acción local como vía de transferencia del conocimiento históricoel caso de Salamanca

Abstract

Reflections on the social dimension of history and historians have a long tradition. However, they are normally kept within the limits imposed by historiography. We believe that it is necessary to discuss the practical possibilities of making history´s social dimension effective. This aim is based on two claims: first, that historical knowledge can and should play a part in the transformation of society; second, that historians can be social agents with a legitimate capacity of action outside the academic field. In this article, we want to consider the immediate social milieu in which that action could take place: the city. We took Salamanca, the city in which we live and work, as a case study, in order to analyze the available and potential means for the transfer of historical knowledge and the specific areas in which historians could contribute to the social building of the city.