The teaching and research focus on German and European cultural, social, and intellectual history from the early 16th to the late 18th century. A gender-historical approach is pursued. Particular attention is given to the history of the standardization of "masculinity" and "femininity," the history of medicine and the body, the history of mentalities and everyday life, historical criminology, the history of war and violence, and the genesis and mechanisms of knowledge and knowledge transfer.
(DFG Individual Research Grant)
The DFG is funding three research staff positions and material resources for three years. The research project began in February 2022. The DFG has extended it until January 2027 at no additional cost. The project currently consists of two subprojects:
The project combines the dimensions of gender and body history with the praxeological approach of recent administrative and regional history. It examines the significance of the relational category of gender in the constitution and stabilization of rule and statehood, as understood through Foucault's concepts of governmentality and biopolitics. This includes gender and body norms, as well as self- and external attributions, in the early modern confessionalized state formation process.
Based on previously unexamined matrimonial court proceedings before the confessional, heterogeneous Hohenlohe consistories of the various lines (from 1648 to mediatization in 1806), this study will examine the concrete ways and forms in which early modern statehood was stabilized and penetrated all areas of life, down to the level of the individual's body.
The absence of an intermediate class, such as the lower nobility or estates of the realm, enables an analysis of rulers' and their councils' direct intervention in the lives of their subjects, including family life. Specifically, the procedures relating to marriage, sexuality, and procreation will be examined in terms of their significance for population policy. Additionally, the character and role of images of masculinity and femininity, as well as general ideas about marriage for those involved in the procedures, will be discussed.
At the intersection of the emotional and strategic conflicts surrounding marriage dissolution or formation, one can trace and describe the complex interplay of administrative procedures, ruling interests, and formally non-governmental authorities, such as family, neighborhood, workplace, and community. It is important to distinguish between the regulatory function of sexual policy in the form of population policy-motivated marriage restrictions or promotion, and theologically motivated opposition to 'fornication'.
Particular attention is paid to the diverse and sometimes competing norms and administrative practices, including obtaining external reports and expert opinions from doctors, lawyers, and theologians. Second, the focus is on civil servants and pastors because they acted as a hinge between subjects and rulers. Third, it is important to consider the influence of the competing confessional interests of the various Hohenlohe lines.
(DFG Temporary Position for Principal Investigators)
During the ongoing coronavirus crisis, sales staff in food retail, traditionally predominantly female, experienced a level of social recognition that was previously unheard of. The role that saleswomen played in the rise of the large chain stores that dominate today at the beginning of the 20th century has not yet been researched. This is due to the prevalent narrative in Germany concerning the success of large food retail chains. These companies are regarded as pioneers of modern mass consumerism and are often lauded for their efficiency and profitability. However, a crucial element is often overlooked: the women behind the counter. The project will focus on saleswomen in mass chain stores and challenge the prevailing narrative. Empirical research on female sales staff should generate insights that will provide a more nuanced understanding of saleswomen and female employment in general. In this respect, the project also contributes to the revitalized history of work (and working environments) in Germany.
(DFG Individual Research Grant)
The DFG is providing funding for a research staff position and material resources for a period of three years. The research project formally commenced in June 2024.
It examines the control of epidemics by the various warring parties, civil authorities, and parts of the regional populations during the First Coalition War (1792–1797). At the macro level, the project focuses on forms of stabilizing power by examining military and civil government and administrative actions. At the micro level, this will be linked to the (re)actions of the civilian population in a research area spanning several territorial borders along the Lower, Middle, and Upper Rhine.
The objective is to analyze the activities and measures of the various participants (actors) related to the military functionality and combat capability of the troops, as well as the health and performance of the civilian population. A socio-historical perspective is taken, which also includes the history of procedures and communication. First, the study will examine the health policy significance of the actions taken. Second, it will consider the nature and significance of the scope for action (agency). Third, it will address the competing interests of the various actors. The conflicts surrounding the common goal of containing suspected chains of infection allow us to examine the limits of dichotomous notions of health and disease, civil and military society, and friend and foe in relation to epidemic control measures.
The project draws from a variety of sources, including official orders for epidemic control, intelligence reports, correspondence between military and civil administrations, military hospital lists and inventories, parish chronicles, medical reports, and diaries of soldiers and civilians.
The project is being pursued externally.
Das Promotionsprojekt „Der weibliche Körper als Objekt politisch-dynastischer Verhandlungen – Perspektiven auf angebliche und tatsächliche Schwangerschaften hochadeliger Witwen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert“ [Arbeitstitel] untersucht in geschlechtergeschichtlicher und körperhistorischer Perspektive und ausgehend von den Ansätzen der Neueren Kulturgeschichte Fälle schwangerer oder vermeintlich schwangerer Witwen. Hierbei wird versucht, die vielfältigen Selbst- und Fremdwahrnehmungen in den Blick zu nehmen, denen der hochadelige weibliche Körper im besonderen Zustand zwischen Gewissheit und Ungewissheit, sichtbaren, spürbaren und unsichtbaren Zeichen und zwischen abschließender Bestätigung oder Verneinung der Schwangerschaft ausgesetzt war. Ausgehandelt wurde dieser Prozess häufig im Spannungsfeld zwischen der somatischen Wahrnehmung und dem somatischen Wissen der Frau auf der einen und dem gelehrten Wissen der häufig zu Rate gezogenen Ärzte und Hebammen auf der anderen Seite.
Im Mittelpunkt des Promotionsvorhabens sollen Fälle von Witwen stehen, die bis zum Tod ihres Ehemannes kein Kind zur Welt gebracht hatten oder zum Zeitpunkt des Todes keinen lebenden Erben vorweisen konnten und somit die ‚Pflicht’ der Sicherung des Fortbestands der Familie bislang nicht erfüllt hatten. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass vor dem Hintergrund des hohen dynastischen, familiären und öffentlichen Stellenwertes, den Nachkommen für den Hochadel in der Frühen Neuzeit hatten, eine auch nur zunächst vermutete Schwangerschaft einer kürzlich verwitweten Fürstin eine Erweiterung ihres individuellen Handlungsspielraums als nun potentielle Fortführerin der jeweiligen Linie zur Folge hatte. Weiterhin soll der Vermutung nachgegangen werden, dass der bloße Verdacht einer bestehenden Schwangerschaft bereits zahlreiche politisch-dynastische Prozesse und Verhandlungen verschiedener AkteurInnen und Institutionen in Bezug auf Macht-, Erb- und Herrschaftsansprüche in Gang setzte. Gleichzeitig ermöglicht die intensive Beschäftigung mit einzelnen Fällen aus dem 17. und 18. Jahrhundert die zeitgenössischen Diskurse über die Themenkomplexe Fruchtbarkeit, Fortpflanzung, Schwangerschaft und Nachkommen sowie die Verhandlung derselben nachvollziehen zu können. Hier möchte die geplante Untersuchung einen Beitrag zur noch lückenhaften Geschichte des adeligen weiblichen Körpers und dem Umgang mit adeligen Schwangerschaften leisten. Außerdem sollen neue Erkenntnisse über die bislang nur in Ansätzen erforschten Lebenswirklichkeiten fürstlicher Witwen gewonnen werden.
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Last update: Sep 26, 2025
