Max-Weber-Kolleg welcomes new (junior) fellows in the 2026 summer semester

The research group ‘Religion and Urbanity’, led by Susanne Rau and Jörg Rüpke, wel-comes the following fellows: Rana Behal, with the project ‘Social History and Religion, Orality and Ethnography: Walled City of Amritsar (Punjab, India) in the Post-Partition Era’; Aneke Dornbusch with the project ‘Othering’ of Religious Groups in Urban Spaces: 16th Century Mandates against Anabaptism in German Cities’; Ulrike Ehmig, who is working on ‘The Sacred Inscription Landscape of Raetia’; Raminder Kaur (distinguished fellow) with the project ‘Ruminations: Religions, Cities and Worlds’; Harry Maier, who is working on the project ‘Mobility and Urbanity in Early Christ Religion’ and Heiner Stahl, with the project ‘Sounds, Scents and Smells in Religious Rituals in Urban Areas of India and the European Part of the Ottoman Empire. On Sensory Perceptions in Travel Literature (1600–1800)’.

Claudio Anello (Between men and gods: divine signs and imperial power) and Maja Rothardt (The nearest burial – sanction, desire, confessional hybrid?) are joining us as (visiting) PhD students. In addition, colleague Ribar Khalaf comes with the project ‘The Impact of the Syrian Conflict and Perspectives on Future Cultural Heritage Protection in the Syrian Jazira (2011–2025)’.

The research group on Social Philosophy and Social Theory is enriched by the fellows Christoph Henning, who is working on the project ‘Introduction to the Critique of Ide-ology’, among others, and Dario Montero with the project ‘Latin American Indigenous Notions of (Social) Energy, with Special Emphasis on the Mapuche Culture’. Michael Riegner has been appointed as an associated Fellow for the project ‘Visual Comparative Law and the Aesthetics of (Post)human Rights’.

As part of the Merian Centre ICAS:MP (Metamorphoses of the Political) in Delhi, Paridhi Gupta is coming to Erfurt with her project ‘Drawing Dissent: A ‘Beyond Words’ Ethnog-raphy of Women’s Movements in India’.

The International Graduate School “Resonant Self-World Relations” welcomes Carmen Burgio (‘Re-appraising Deviance and Difference: Boundaries of Religious Practice in Classical Greece’) as a visiting PhD student.

The Collaborative Research Centre “Structural Change in Property” once again wel-comes Benjamin Solomon as a Mercator Fellow; he is working on ‘Property in Territory and Artefacts’.

As part of the research group ‘(De)Colonizing Sharia?’ led by Irene Schneider, Kübra Nugay is working as a new postdoctoral researcher on the project ‘Evolution of Legal Concepts in the MENA Region in the 19th and 20th Centuries: Changes in Commercial and Obligations Law/Criminal Law’.

“We are delighted to once again welcome so many exciting researchers from Germany and abroad to Erfurt and look forward to the exchange of ideas,” said Jörg Rüpke, Co-Director of the Max-Weber-Kolleg, who has taken over the leadership of the Kolleg whilst Director Hartmut Rosa is on a research stay in Aarhus.