Wie und zu welchem Ende schreibt man die Biographie eines Unbekannten? Peter Friedrich Hoffbauer (1750–1823)

Dr Stefan Brakensiek was a professor of early modern history at the University of Duisburg-Essen from 2006 to 2022. He studied history and Literary Studies at the University of Bielefeld. He was awarded his doctorate in Bielefeld with a thesis on ‘Agrarian Reform and Rural Society’ and completed his habilitation there in 1997 with a monograph entitled ‘On the Path to Public Service: Judges and Administrative Officials in Hesse’. His main areas of research include the history of rural areas and the history of political culture, as well as the judiciary and public administration as social and cultural practices.