Conclusion: cross-perspective on ego-history

The concluding remarks in this final chapter build on individual singularities as well as collective patterns that emerge from the ego-histories presented here. First, this text reflects on how scholars in the current volume have engaged with what can be seen as certain passages obliges, essential and perhaps unavoidable steps of the ego-history genre, namely the questioning of the origins of one’s research (‘why?’, but also ‘how?’ and ‘when?’) and of the links between personal identities and intellectual trajectories. Second, it focuses on the research shifts and developments observed in the wake of the ‘Paxtonian turn’. A third section looks at interdisciplinary and collaborative openings along with the social and public role played by scholars working on this period. A fourth and final section considers ego-histories of France and the Second World War from an intergenerational perspective.