Sonja Dolinsek

since October 2023
Research associate for 20th century history and contemporary history at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg

since April 2014
PhD student at the Chair of 19th Century Global History (Iris Schröder)

April 2023 – March 2024
Lecturer at the Freie Universität Berlin, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Global History

November 2021 – September 2023
Research associate at the University of Paderborn in the project "DataLiteracySkills@OWL" at the Department of Media, Algorithms and Society (from 10/2022: Digital Humanities); Link: https://kw.uni-paderborn.de/institut-fuer-medienwissenschaften/personal-a-z/personen/93123

October 2021 – March 2022
Lecturer at the Freie Universität Berlin, John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies

April 2021 – December 2021
Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz - Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek, Research Associate in the project "Nutzerorientierte Neustrukturierung der Deutschen Digitalen Bibliothek" (Neustart Kultur)

April 2014 – March 2020
Lecturer at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute for Historical Sciences, Joint Master "European History"/"Global History"

2015 – 2018
Doctoral scholarship holder of the Heinrich Böll Foundation

Winter semester 2016/2017 
Lecturer at the Freie Universität Berlin, Master in "Global History"

Summer semester 2016 
Lecturer at Philipps-Universität-Marburg, Centre for Gender Studies and Feminist Futurology/Department of History and Cultural Studies

January – May 2016
Research Associate at the Five College Women's Studies Research Centre(Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA)

August-September 2015
Fellow of the German Historical Institute, London

February – March 2015
Fellow of the German Historical Institute, Washington DC

until 2014
Studied Modern/Modern History, Philosophy and Political Science at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and at the Universities of Bologna, Sciences Po Rennes and Brown University.

March 2014
Magistra Artium in Modern/Newer History and Philosophy; Master's thesis on "Die sozialwissenschaftliche Beobachtung der Prostitution in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. 1949-1990" (supervised by Thomas Mergel and Iris Schröder)

2012 – 2014
Student assistant at the ERASMUS office of the International Office of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

March 2011 – April 2012
Deputy Central Women's Representative (Electoral Office), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

2011 – 2012
Realisation of a student project tutorial on "Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Trafficking" at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

2008 – 2012
Student assistant at the Chair for "European History of the 20th Century" (Prof. Dr Thomas Mergel) at the Humboldt University of Berlin

2007
Tutor at the Chair of "Modern Political Theory" (Prof. Dr Bernd Ladwig) at the Free University of Berlin

Trafficking in Women, Slavery, Sex Work: Transnational Politics of "Sexual Labour" in the Second Half of the 20th Century

The subject of the doctoral project is transnational policies and debates on those forms of "sexual labour" that were described as "prostitution" and "trafficking in women" in the second half of the 20th century. The project analyses the period from the foundation of the United Nations (1945) to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995). The starting point of the research project is the "Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others" adopted by the United Nations in 1949.

Firstly, it examines the development and historical change of transnational activities and policies regarding "sexual labour" at the level of the United Nations and the commissions and working groups responsible there, as well as at the level of transnationally active women's organisations in transnational spaces, such as the World Conferences on Women. Secondly, the study examines conceptualisations and processes of negotiation in the interpretation and normative assessment of "sexual work" by transnationally active actors. The focus here is particularly on the question of the shift and differentiation of concepts of prostitution: How did which actors conceptualise and understand prostitution against the background of which assumptions and patterns of interpretation? In particular, the current common understandings of "sexual work" as either "human trafficking" and "violence against women" or "sex work" are historicised and embedded in their historical context of origin. Thirdly, patterns of interpretation and conceptualisations of "sexual labour" are examined with regard to three discursive fields: work, sexuality and human rights.

Essays

"Tensions of Abolitionism During the Negotiation of the 1949 'Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others'", in: European Review of History. Revue européenne d'histoire, 29 (2022), pp. 223-248, DOI: 10.1080/13507486.2022.2026893.

(with Siobhán Hearne) "Introduction. Prostitution in Twentieth Century Europe, European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire, 29 (2022), pp. 121-144, DOI: 10.1080/13507486.2022.2029361.

„Kein Mädchenhandel mehr“. Framing Contests in der transnationalen Bekämpfung des Mädchenhandels, in: Christian Henrich-Franke, Claudia Hiepel, Guido Thiemeyer, Henning Türk (eds.): Grenzüberschreitende institutionalisierte Zusammenarbeit von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Baden-Baden 2019, pp. 385-416.(Nomos E-Library)

(with Philippa Hetherington) "Cold War and International Law: Socialist Internationalism and Decolonising Moralities in the UN Anti-Trafficking Regime, 1947-1954", in: Journal of the History of International Law (2/2019).

„Regulieren, abschaffen, maßregeln. Historische Perspektiven auf den staatlichen Umgang mit Prostitution“, in: Georg Teichert (ed.), Das Prostituiertenschutzgesetz. Implementierung – Problematisierung – Sensibilisierung, vol. 2 ed. R.: Georg Teichert (ed.), IMPULSE. Leipzig University Contributions on Diversity and Equal Opportunities, Leipzig 2019.

„Haben Prostituierte Menschenrechte oder ist Prostitution eine Menschenrechtsverletzung? Transnationale Kontroversen im 20. Jahrhundert”, in: Carola Sachse and Roman Birke (eds.), Das Geschlecht der Menschenrechte im 20. Jahrhundert, Göttingen 2018, pp. 185-206.

„Gehandelte Frau oder unerwünschte Fremde? Zur Geschichte der Prostituierten als Migrantin (1950er-1980er)”, in: Ariadne. Forum for Women's and Gender History 71, 2017, pp. 66-73.

„Konvention zur Unterbindung des Menschenhandels (1949) und Erklärung über Prostitution und Menschenrechte (1986)”, in: Quellen zur Geschichte der Menschenrechte, (ed.) Arbeitskreis Menschenrechte im 20. Jahrhundert, September 2016 read...

Reviews

„Und nach der Abolition?“. Review of: Malte König. Der Staat als Zuhälter. Die Abschaffung der reglementierten Prostitution in Deutschland, Frankreich und Italien im 20. Jahrhundert, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016, in: Neue Politische Literatur 2 (2018), pp. 315-318.

Review of: Jennifer Suchland: Economies of Violence: transnational feminism, postsocialism and the politics of sex trafficking. Durham, London: Duke University Press, 2015. in: L'Homme. Europäische Zeitschrift für Feministische Geschichtswissenschaft 17 (1), April 2017 read...
Chancen und Perspektiven der Geschlechtergeschichte – auch für die Zeitgeschichte. Rezension zu: Julia Paulus et. al.: Zeitgeschichte als Geschlechtergeschichte. Neue Perspektiven auf die Bundesrepublik, Frankfurt am Main et al: Campus Verlag 2012. in: querelles-net. Review journal for women's and gender studies 14 (4) 2013 read... 
Jonas Brendebach, Sonja Dolinsek, Anina Falasca, Leonie Kathmann (2013): Cold War Studies, transnationale Geschichte und internationale Organisationen, Version: 1.0, in: Docupedia-Zeitgeschichte, 14.10.2011 read...

“Socio-legal research in and with archives: Some reflections”, Socio-Legal Lab: Conducting, structuring and analyzing socio-legal data, Law and Society Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 18. Januar 2019.

„‚Haben’ Prostituierte Menschenrechte oder ‚ist’ Prostitution eine Menschenrechtsverletzung? Menschenrechte und die ‚Prostituierte’ im 20. Jahrhundert”, Historikertag 2018, Münster, Germany, 28. September 2018.

“Freedom of Movement and the Legal Status of Migrant Sex Workers in the European Economic Community”, IFRWH Conference, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 9.-13. August 2018.

“Not a criminal, not a worker: The uncertain legal and social status of the 'prostitute' in Europe (1950s-1970s)”, Workshop “New Perspectives on Late Modern European History”, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 1.-2. Juni 2018. 

“Prostitution and Violence in Post-Abolitionist France”, ESSHC – European Social Science History Conference, Belfast 4.-7. April 2018.

“After ‘abolition’: ‘White Slavery’, migration and human rights in anti-trafficking discourses after World War II”, 2017 Berkshire Conference of Women’s Historians, 1.-4. Juni 2017, Hofstra, NY.

“From ‘White Slavery’ to ‘Sexual Slavery’: Framing women’s sexual labour in transnational migrations from the 1960s to the 1980s”, Gender & Humanitarianism. (Dis-)Empowering Women and Men in the Twentieth Century, Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), 29. Juni-1. Juli 2017, Mainz.

Transnationale Advokatennetzwerke und die grenzüberschreitende Bekämpfung des „Frauenhandels“ im 20. Jahrhundert“, Konferenz „Grenzüberschreitende institutionalisierte Zusammenarbeit von der Antike bis in die Gegenwart. Strukturen und Prozesse“, Tagung der AG Internationale Geschichte des VHD, Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut (KWI), Essen, 16./17. März 2017.

“Hierarchies of the ‘Local’ in the making of ‘Global’ Politics of Sexual Labour”, Project Workshop: Global History, Trafficking, and Digital Collaboration, University of Cambridge, 25./26. Februar 2017. URL: https://www.traffickingpast.uk/
„Kritik am Radikalfeminismus“, Vortrag im Rahmen der Aktionstage „Gesellschaft Macht Geschlecht“, Organisation: Gleichstellungsreferat Stura Uni Jena, 8. Dezember 2016, Jena.

„Moderne Sklaverei: Ausbeutung mit System“, Vortragsreihe von „Dialog am Tellerrand e. V.“, Hochschule Osnabrück, 29. November 2016, Osnabrück.

“‘The offences referred to in the Convention are unknown under the socialist régime’: Socialist countries and the making of the 1949 Convention against trafficking”, State Socialism, Legal Experts and the Genesis of International Criminal and Humanitarian Law after 1945, 24.-26. November 2016, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin.

„Nach der ‚Abolition’: Wie der Frauen- und Mädchenhandel in Vergessenheit geriet (1949-1975)“, „Mädchenhandel und Völkerrecht. Internationale Verrechtlichungsprozesse vom 19. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart“, GWZO, 4./5. November 2016, Leipzig.

„Die Arbeit mit dem Sex: Recht und Politik im Umgang mit Prostitution“, Vortragsreihe „Gender und Recht aus internationaler Perspektive“, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 25. Oktober 2016, Halle/Saale.

“Traffic in Women, Slavery, Sex Work: The Transnational Politics of Sexual Labour in the Second Half of the 20th Century”, Sommerkurs RUB-Europadialog, 5. August 2016, Bochum.

“Traffic in Women, Slavery, Sex Work. The Transnational Politics of Sexual Labour in the Era of the World Women’s Conferences (1975-1985)”, Thinking Gender 2016. Spatial Awareness, Representation, and Gendered Spaces, 7./8. April 2016, UCLA, Los Angeles.

“Transnational Abolitions and the ‘Prostitute’ in the Making of the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others”, Faculty Research Seminar, Five College Women’s Studies Research Center, South Hadely, MA, 30. März 2016.

“‘Global localities’: A microhistorical approach for a global history of international organizations”, Global History: Eroding the Barricades of Historical Interpretation, Tufts University, 5. März 2016.

“Victim, criminal or sexual deviant? Defining the ‘prostitute’ during the negotiations of the 1949 anti-trafficking convention”, Crossing borders. Negotiating Spaces, Identities, and Sources Across the Historical Disciplines, The Sixth Annual Graduate Center Student Conference, CUNY – City University of New York, New York, 18. März 2016.

„‚Agency’: Theoretische Überlegungen zur Analyse von ‚Handlungsräumen’ im Kontext der Sexarbeitsforschung“, Interdisziplinärer Workshop „Aktuelle Ansätze zur Untersuchung von Sexarbeit“, 4./5. Dezember 2015, Berlin.

“Traffic in Women, Slavery, Sex Work: The Transnational Politics of Sexual Labour in the Era of the World Women’s Conferences (1975-1985)”, Women's History Network Annual Conference 2015. Female agency, activism and organisation, 4.-6. September 2015, University of Kent, Canterbury.

“Debates on prostitution and ‘traffic in women’ in international organizations and transnational NGOs (1945-1985)”, Konferenz “Trafficking, Smuggling, and Illicit Migration in Historical Perspective”, London, 18.-20. Juni 2015. (invited paper)

“Sex workers’ ‘spaces of agency’: An alternative framework of analysis”, Konferenz “Troubling Prostitution: exploring intersections of sex, intimacy and labour”, Wien, 16.-18. April 2015.

„Der gesellschaftliche Blick auf Prostitution: Zwischen ‚Sexarbeit’ und ‚Ausbeutung’, Universität Halle, Vortragsreihe queer_einsteigen, 30. Oktober 2014.

Kommentar zum Panel „The globalization of ‘white slavery’? Local and global aspects of a transnational phenomenon”, Fourth European Congress and World and Global History, September 2014, Paris.

Tracing discourses on prostitution and human trafficking in Germany in the secondhalf of the 20th century, Tagung “Actors - Discourses - Practices: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Governing Trafficking in Women. 110 Years of Experience”, Wien, Mai 2014.

“Prostituierte in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Beobachtung. BRD 1949-1990”, Spring School 2013 "Die Suche nach Alternativen", Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, April 2013.

“Conceptions of Prostitute Women's Agency in West-Germany from the 1950s to the 1980s”, 9th European Social Science History Conference, Glasgow, April 2012.

Student symposium "Verletzte Leben – verwehrte Rechte. Menschenhandel im 21. Jahrhundert", 22/23 March 2013, co-organised with Johannes Stiegler and others, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, sponsored by the Humboldt-Universitäts-Gesellschaft Verein der Freunde, der Ehemaligen und der Förderer e.V., URL: http://www.verletzteleben.net/.
Interdisciplinary workshop "Aktuelle Ansätze zur Untersuchung von Sexarbeit", co-organised with Marlen Löffler and Giovanna Gilges, Berlin 4/5 December 2015.

International workshop "Mädchenhandel und Völkerrecht. Internationale Verrechtlichungsprozesse vom 19. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart", cooperation with the GWZO Leipzig, 4/5 November 2016, GWZO Leipzig, URL: https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/termine-30895.
Workshop "Historische Perspektiven auf ‚Prostitution'", co-organised with Steffi Brüning, Berlin 22/23 February 2017.

Conference report
International Workshop "Perspectives on the history of 'prostitution' in East-Central Europe", Prague, Vila Lanna, February 15th-17th 2018.

Conference Report
Programme