Book launch and panel discussion on the history of care placement

Daniel Deplazes, Jona Garz, Nives Haymoz and Michèle Hofmann spent almost five years researching the history of Albisbrunn children's home. The researchers from the Institute of Education at the University of Zurich investigated the practices, organisation and contexts of residential care in the 20th century. To make their findings accessible to a broader audience, and particularly to secondary school teachers, care home educators, social workers and other professionals, they wrote a historical novel together. "Der Junge" (The Boy, published by Th. Gut-Verlag) tells the story of Werni, a boy growing up under challenging conditions in early 20th-century Bern who is sent to a care home in the canton of Zurich at the age of 14. His story is just one of many involving children placed in care.

The book will be launched at an event to be held

on Wednesday 20 November 2024 at 5 p.m. in the main building of the University of Zurich
Please register by 10 November 2024.

A panel discussion will be held in acknowledgement of this remarkable way of sharing scientific findings. The discussion will also cover the topic of communicating historic research findings. The panel members will be:

Dr Gisela Bürki (emeritus professor of German and language practice, Bern University of Teacher Education)
Dr Daniel Deplazes (educational scientist and novel author)
Prof. Markus Furrer (emeritus professor of history and history teaching, University of Teacher Education Lucerne)
Dr Urs Hafner (historian and scientific journalist)
Dr Loretta Seglias (historian)

The Canton of Zurich's state archive also plans to promote this type of knowledge transfer by holding an event on the book project at 6 p.m. on Thursday 12 December 2024. This event will form part of its "Archivquellen als Erzählstoff" (archive sources as narrative material) series.