Social science history: moments of history

The essay analyzes the development of Social Science History which is a relatively new interdisciplinary area of contemporary Russian Historical Science and still lacks either status in the academia or correct translation into Rus­sian. The characteristic of the analyzed academic field is presented in comparison with foreign tendencies of its de­velopment. The various points of view on the content and definition of Social Science History at different stages of development are under investigation. Social Science History originated from the interdisciplinary field of History and Sociology. At present, the widespread use of mathematical methods and information technologies allows Social Sci­ence History to address fundamentally new challenges with the use of mass sources and the processing of large amounts of data. In the US, the Social Science History Association which exists since 1976 and publishes an aca­demic journal is a major center for the development of Social Science History. In Europe, the development of Social Science History is connected mainly with the European Social Science History Conferences, organized in various European countries once in two years. The main academic and educational center in the field is the International In­stitute of Social History in Amsterdam.