Dominic Keyßner

Since October 2023
Academic Coordinator at the Centre for Transcultural Studies / Perthes Collection, University of Erfurt

Since June 2023
Doctoral candidate in the EPPP junior research programme "History of Knowledge in the Modern Era" at the University of Erfurt

April 2023 – September 2023
Herzog-Ernst Fellow of the Ernst Abbe Foundation at the Forschungskolleg Transkulturelle Studien / Sammlung Perthes, University of Erfurt

October 2019 – March 2023
Master's programme in Collection-Related Knowledge and Cultural History, University of Erfurt

May 2022 – March 2023
Research Assistant at the Centre for Transcultural Studies / Perthes Collection, University of Erfurt

November 2019 – April 2022
Research assistant in the BMBF research network "Karten-Meere: Für eine Geschichte der Globalisierung vom Wasser aus" at the Centre for Transcultural Studies / Perthes Collection, University of Erfurt

2015 – 2019
Bachelor's degree programme in History of Arts and Film Studies & European Ethnology/Cultural History, Friedrich Schiller University Jena

The Socialist Scale. Cartographic Production of the VEB Hermann Haack, 1955-1989

The history of the Justus Perthes Gotha publishing house was particularly shaped by various upheavals and the tensions of political system rivalries, especially in the 20th century. The location of the publishing house in the GDR ultimately led to expropriation in 1953 and subsequent nationalization, which was to have far-reaching consequences. Despite the long tradition associated with the publishing house, not only was the publishing house itself restructured as a state-owned enterprise (Volkseigener Betrieb), but also cartography was reorganized in line with the political ideology of socialism. However, how was cartography transformed under socialism?

This project explores the question through the cartographic knowledge production of VEB Hermann Haack, examining how political interests influenced the modes and content of cartographic products. Key publications and projects of the publishing house, such as the "Haack Großer Weltatlas," the "Atlas zur Geschichte," or participation in the "Карта Мира," are used as central references. This also raises the question of what kind of cartography was developed under the conditions of socialism and the Cold War, and how it inscribed itself in international contexts. As the publishing house held a relative monopoly position for producing cartographic products in the GDR, the study not only provides insights into the cartography of the publishing house itself but also into the role of cartography in the GDR in general.

• History of Knowledge and Science in the 19th and 20th Centuries
• History of Cartography and Geography
• History of Publishing
• History of Oceanography and Polar Research

Conference report: Mapping Asia: Cartography and the Construction of Territoriality, in: H-Maps, July 2023. open access

Die Meere der Postschifffahrt, in: Karten-Meere Blog, 13.01.2022. open access

Vom Lehnstuhl in die Arktis: Wie Adolf Mühry nach Spitzbergen kam, in: Notizen aus dem Gothaer Bibliotheksturm 34, 13.12.2021. open access