Profile

The Centre for Transcultural Studies / Collection Perthes provides a plattform for interdisciplinary research on the historical developments culminating in our globalized world. Focal point of our research is the context of collecting in Gotha since the late 18th century, with particular focus on the Collection Perthes preserved by the Gotha Research Library, which encompasses the archives of the publisher Justus Perthes Gotha and its successors since 1785.

The Centre conducts independent as well as collaborative research through a plethora of different projects and initiatives. Further, in cooperation with the Gotha Research Center it aims to promote the next generation of scholars through the Graduate School "History of Knowledge" and enables international junior and senior scholars to participate in its research by offering scholarship programs. In its research, the Centre collaborates with national and international scholars, striving for close partnerships with scholars from the Global South. A current cornerstone of this programme is the ongoing exchange with scholars from Ethiopia since 2014.

In it's role as a central academic institution of the University of Erfurt, the Centre succeeds the Second Department of the Gotha Research Centre, which was established in 2013. Through its integration into the University of Erfurt, the Centre is able to maintain close scholarly ties with the Collection Perthes and and multiple interested researchers from the University of Erfurt. Current research is conducted by the Centre's active members, including its founding members: