Universität Erfurt
Centre for Transcultural Studies / Perthes Collection
Postfach 90 02 21
99105 Erfurt
since December 2017
Head of the Collection of Islamic Art, Museum für Arts und Gewerbe Hamburg
October 2015 – December 2017
Doctoral scholarship University of Erfurt
Topic of the dissertation: Wissensdinge der deutschen Palästinaforschung 1877-1926
2014 – October 2015
Curatorial Assistant Kunsthaus Dresden, Project Artificial Facts
Project of the Kunsthaus Dresden. Städtische Galerie für Gegenwartskunst with the artist group Artefakte//aktivierung, the curator Sophie Goltz in collaboration with the partners Burning Museum (Cape Town, South Africa), the École du Patrimoine Africain (Porto-Novo, Benin) and the University of Abomey-Calavi (Cotonou, Benin)
2014
Lectureship WS 2013/14 Francophone Literatures of North Africa, Romance Studies, TU Dresden
Lectureship SS 2014 Art History as History of Contact - Cultural Contact in Dresden Collections, Art History, TU Dresden
Lectureship WS 2014/2015 Lecture Studium Globale - World Religions / Islam, HS Zittau
2012 – 2014
Scientific traineeship, Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Inventory of the Peter Schienerl Collection
German Museums Association pilot project "Sammlungen Neu Sichten" (New Views of Collections)
2011 – 2012
Freelance cultural mediator Ethnological Museum Berlin, Berlin State Museums
2010
two-month internship UN Headquarters, ECOSOC, NGO Branch, New York
2008 – 2009
German-French parliamentary internship, studies at Sciences-Po, Paris and internship at the Assemblée Nationale, Paris
2006 – 2007
Erasmus studies at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), Paris
May – July 2008
Assistance Summer School "Gender Budgeting and Care Economy in Muslim Societies" Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Humboldt University, Berlin
2007 – 2008/2009-2011
Student assistant at the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies, Berlin
2007
Three-month internship at the office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Rabat
2004 – 2011
Studied African Studies (Humboldt University of Berlin) and Islamic Studies (Freie Universität Berlin), Magister Artium
Topic of Master's thesis: Die Auseinandersetzungen um die Reform des Familien- und Personenstandrechts in Mali und Marokko (1977-2011)
The Middle East has been a focal point of colonial projects and theological research since the 19th century. What conceptions regarding environment, space, and cultural history underpinned the creation of scientific collections and maps of the region? Did the prospect of a future German colony or the projection onto a Land of the Bible take center stage in the narrative constructed from the compiled evidence? Furthermore, how did Zionist researchers build upon Christian Palestine research?
Based on object legacies and maps, the study offers a different perspective on German Palestine research, demonstrating that by the end of the 19th century, scientific research displaced biblical spatial conceptions. A biblical Orientalism, perceiving Palestine as the original landscape of the Bible, served as a counter-narrative to colonial modernization through railways and intensive agriculture. In Zionism, maps and collections were adopted based on political inclinations. While the Zionist World Congress translated Heinrich Kiepert's maps in 1913, the Revisionist Ze’ev Jabotinsky used the maps from the Wagner and Debes publishing house in Leipzig as a basis for his Hebrew Atlas in 1925. Revisionists, national-religious, and left-wing Zionists utilized maps of Palestine research, interpreting them differently and establishing distinct spatial conceptions. By examining previously understudied sources, the dissertation reveals turns and shifts in the intellectual history of Palestine research.
The dissertation was defended in May 2021, and a publication is currently in preparation. The dissertation was published in 2024 with the title "Palästina begreifen. Wissensdinge, Akteursnetzwerke, Raumerzählungen (1877-1929)".
Palästina begreifen. Wissensdinge, Akteursnetzwerke, Raumerzählungen (1877–1929), Frankfurt a. M./New York 2024.
Beyond Manuscripts. Maronite Christians as Object Interpreters in Early Modern Europe, in: Guidetti, Mattia/ Dolezalek, Isabelle (eds.), Heritage Revisited, London 2021.
with Peter Burschel, Der Prinz vom Berg Libanon Scidid Spaada Habaisci, in: Rößler, Hole/ von Lüneburg, Marie (eds.), Bitte eintragen! The Visitors' Books of the Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel 2021, pp. 61-70.
Magische Materielle Kultur – ägyptischer Schmuck und Amulette in der Sammlung Schienerl, in: Abhandlungen und Berichte der Staatlichen Ethnographischen Sammlungen Sachsen 55 (2021), pp. 27-50.
Mit Kompass und Wörterbuch: Die Karten des Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, in: Burkart, Lucas/ Loop, Jan/ Stucky, Rolf (eds.), Johann Ludwig Burckhardt Sheikh Ibrahim. Discoveries in the Orient around 1800, Basel 2019, pp. 119-125.
Botanical Explorations by Frederik Hasselquist (1749-1752) and Peter Forsskål (1761-1763) Linné's Apostles in the Holy Land, in: Ašceric-Todd, Ines/ Knees, Sabina/ Starkey, Janet/ Starkey, Paul (eds.), Travellers in Ottoman Lands. The Botanical Legacy, Oxford 2018, pp. 109-121.
Herbarien als Geomemorabilia – Blumenalben aus Jerusalem, in: Annals for History and Philosophy of Biology 22 (2018), pp. 279-289.
Elias Habesci and the Present State of the Ottoman Empire, in: Thomas, David/ Chesworth, John A. (eds.), Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Asia, Africa and the Americas (1700-1800), Leiden 2019, pp. 351-354.
Brinckmann und die Islamische Kunst. Sammlungsgeschichten aus dem Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (ed. together with Professor Dr Isabelle Dolezalek), Justus Heidelberg Arthistnet (results of a teaching research project), in preparation.
Collection area Islamic Arts, Walid Raad: Preface to the Third Edition, in: Arndt Klippgen, Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen. Acquisitions 2008-2018: The Sabine Schulze Era, Hamburg 2018, pp. 76-77.
Die Geschichte der Archäologie Afghanistans, in: Sabine Schulze/Silke Reuther (eds.), Raubkunst? Ein Paneel aus Ghazni im Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Hamburg 2018, pp. 54-62.
„Eher Ägyptische Reminiszenzen“. Diskussionen um den Ursprung der Benin-Bronzen, in: Sabine Schulze/ Silke Reuther (eds.), Raubkunst? Die Bronzen aus Benin im Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Hamburg 2017, pp. 64-67.
with Petra Weigel, blog post: Krankheit und Karte. Die Gothaer geomedizinische Kartographie, 14 April 2020, online
Conference report: Ulrich Jasper Seetzens Reise nach Vorderasien. Neue Ansätze der Reiseforschung, 13.06.2019-15.06.2019 Gotha, in: H-Soz-Kult, 31.08.2019. open access
Mission Jerusalem. Eine kurze Geschichte deutscher protestantischer Einrichtungen in Jerusalem, in: Jerusalem Gemeindebrief - Stiftungsjournal 2 (2017), pp. 6-10.
Geschichte der Vorurteile gegen Islam, in: Dresdener Universitätsjournal 26/9 (2015), p. 3.
with Julius Heinicke, "Wissenschaft mit einem Hauch von Poesie", in: Humboldt 5 (2012), p. 7.
with Inken Wiese, "Die Palästinensische Autonomiebehörde unter Abbas. How capable of acting is it?", in: SPW 39/1 (2005), pp. 39-40.
Blicke auf Europa in der afrikanischen Kunst des 15. bis 17. Jahrhunderts, 17 June 2019, Workshop Europabilder außerhalb Europas, Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome
Abschlusskommentar Ulrich Jasper Seetzens Reise nach Vorderasien. Neue Ansätze der Reiseforschung, 13-15 June 2019, Gotha Research Centre
Von islamischer Kunst zum Design Westasiens. Institut für Orientalistik, 5 June 2019, Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg
Mapping the Red Sea. Production of a Colonial Space. Postcolonial Oceans, Contradictions and Heterogeneities in the Epistemes of Salt Water, 30 May-2 June 2019, University of Bremen
Knowledge-brokers and Object-interpreters: Maronite Christians and the Redefinition of "Islamicate Objects" by the 1800s, 20-21 September 2018 Heritage Revisited. Rediscovering Objects from Islamic Lands in Enlightenment Europe, Vienna
Coins as visual evidence of the Holy Land. 26-29 September 2017, Eastern Coins in the Early Modern World. Antiquarianism and the Oriental Artifact 1500-1800, Trujillo, Spain
Blumenalben aus Jerusalem. 14-16 September 2017, Botany and Aesthetics, International Symposium, Halle an der Saale, Germany
Der Prinz vom Berg Libanon. Die Reise des Spaada Habaisci (1725-1728) als Wissensgeschichte einer Höflichkeitslüge, 10-12 July 2017, Falsche Prinzessinnen, Scharlatane und selbsternannte Experten. Hochstapler in neuzeitlichen Gesellschaften (3rd Former Students' Meeting of the Herzog Ernst Scholarship Programme of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation), Orangery, Gotha
"Flowers of the Holy Land" Herbariums as Circulating Reference in the Discourse on Palestine (1877-1929), 13-14 May 2017 Travelers in Ottoman Lands: Botanical Legacies. Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh
Knowledge Brokers/Beggar Princes. Travelers from Mount Lebanon in the German Principalities, 4-7 March 2017, The Middle East and Europe-Cross-Cultural. Diplomatic and Economic Exchanges in the Early Modern Period (1500-1820), Paris Sorbonne Abu Dhabi
Reiseberichte als Transfermedien. Die Popularisierung des Wissens über Palästina im 19. Jahrhundert, Interdisciplinary colloquium on knowledge transfers between academic research and public space. 4-5 November 2016, Koblenz Campus University of Koblenz-Landau
„Wissensdinge des Heiligen Landes“. Project presentation in the Workshop for Young Scholars and presentation Blumen, Karten, Amulette. Materielle Kultur als Quelle der Geschichte Palästinas, 23rd International Congress of the DAVO 6-8 October 2016, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Doxa-Dinge. Blumenalben aus Jerusalem als materielle Referenz imaginärer Geographien, Workshop Wissensdinge, 1 July 2016, Gotha Research Centre
Re-collecting the Land of the Bible: Collections of Palestinian Material Culture as Entangled History Conference Missionaries, Materials and the Making of the Modern World 15-17 September 2014, Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Workshop Sammlungsmanagement Palestine Museum 9-10 June 2014 at the invitation of the Goethe Institute, Ramallah
Künstlerische Zugänge im Blickwinkel mit den Malern Hans Looschen und Carl Gustav Carus, talk with the painter Dierk Schmidt, 20 June 2015, Kunsthaus Dresden
Medizin, Bibel und Amulette - Aus dem Leben von Lydia Einsler in Jerusalem - lecture together with Zofia Durda and Dr Ronald Grobe-Einsler on 19 October 2014, Museum of Ethnology in Dresden
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, 2020
Reviews (selection)
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
Exhibition 15.11.2018-13.01. 2019
Reviews (selection)
Exhibition 6 Nov - 13 Dec 2015 - Gallery Holger John Dresden.
Works by Manaf Halbouny, Sulafa Hijazy, Khaled Barakeh, Ali Kaaf,
Reviews (selection)
with Brigitte Krause and Robert Liebscher, 2008, among others, Zentrum Moderner Orient and Foyer of the Faculty of Law, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, discussion.
Summer School "Colonial Cities and Border Regions in the Long 19th Century in Inter- imperial and Intra-imperial Comparisons", Herder Institute Marburg, 2020 (postponed)
Excursion of the graduate centre Wissensgeschichte der Neuzeit Gotha to the University of Cambridge and London, 2019
German-Israeli Archive Colloquium funded archive stays in Israel and Germany organised by the Institut für die Geschichte der Deutschen Juden Hamburg and the University of Tel Aviv funded by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation and the Gerda Henkel Foundation, 2017/2018
résidence d'écriture/two-week writing workshop at the Centre Georg Simmel Paris, July 2017
Summer School "Gender, Sexualities and the State" American University Cairo, June 2010
Co-founder of the Spanish Film Festival Berlin in 2011 with Santiago Gomèz Rojas
Employee in film series and events of Dresden Fair Culture with the cultural manager Kristin Eubling
Conference briefing
The Middle East and Europe: Cross-cultural, diplomatic and economic exchanges in the early modern period (1500-1820) Yann Rodier / Clarisse Roche, University Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi 04.03.2017 - 07.03.2017
![[Translate to English:] facebook icon](/fileadmin/SocialMediaIcons/iconfinder_06-facebook_white.svg)
![[Translate to English:] instagram icon](/fileadmin/SocialMediaIcons/iconfinder_38-instagram_white.svg)
![[Translate to English:] YouTube icon](/fileadmin/SocialMediaIcons/iconfinder_18-youtube_white.svg)
![[Translate to English:] xing icon](/fileadmin/SocialMediaIcons/iconfinder_xing_white.svg)
University of Erfurt (Campus)
Nordhäuser Str. 63
99089 Erfurt
