My knowledge of this is pure historiography, so maybe a historian of the period can elaborate, but the answer is no. Leopold von Ranke is largely credited with creating the discipline of history itself, so for much of his career he was unassailable. Late in his life there were some critics of his methods, but he was, for his day, pretty revolutionary.

I'm not sure what kind of criticism you're seeing in your department, but I don't know if I would categorize modern historiography's take on Ranke as 'harsh'. The discipline has grown and evolved, mostly for the better, and Ranke is an important figure even if his ideas are no longer applicable.

Source: Any historiography book ever. I referenced From Historical Methods by Powell and Prevenier because that's what I have on the shelf next to me.

Historicism is closely tied to the general thought and ideas of the 19th century. After world war 2 we didn't only start to see its flaws, but also "lost" the fundament on what it was built.

Maybe that's why it seems strange to you.