Our Team — BCDSS

Universität Bonn

BCDSS

About Us
Research
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Academic and master programs
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Civil Society

About Us Our Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn aims to overcome the binary opposition of "slavery versus freedom". It is a research cluster within the framework of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments. Our cluster of excellence is a joint project of researchers from sociological and anthropological theory, archaeology, Asian and Islamic Studies, religious studies, as well as, theology and German medieval literature, and history. We propose "asymmetrical dependency" as a new key concept including all forms of bondage across time and space.
Research In spite of the diverse forms that human bondage and coercion have taken over time, academic debates in the modern West have primarily focused on the most extreme one: slavery, and in particular, the trans-Atlantic experience of slavery which was closely entangled with the creation of the modern West. It still continues to inform our notions of what freedom and a lack of freedom mean. "Slavery" and "freedom" are ideologically charged terms. We will therefore use a more neutral terminology, and so move beyond the binary opposition of "slavery versus freedom" by suggesting "asymmetrical dependency" – or, more precisely, "strong asymmetrical dependency" as a new key concept, which includes debt bondage, convict labor, tributary labor, servitude, serfdom, and domestic work as well as forms of wage labor and various types of patronage.
Publications The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies has different publication series: Monographs and edited volumes aimed at the scientific community, BCDSS Discussion Papers are articles reporting on research results from current projects. They are usually subsequently published in scholarly journals. BCDSS Working Papers report on preliminary research results or contribute to current debates. In addition, we offer you our quarterly newsletter and our cluster magazine DEPENDENT. Both publications provide information about the work of the cluster and give an insight into events and our research projects. sehepunkte is an interdisciplinary review journal and presents not only an ever-changing repertoire of reviews but also discussions of both monographs and edited collections in fields such as the history of medicine, law and art.
Academic and master programs Our cluster of excellence provides a graduate school and a fellow program. Three professorships that are implemented by the University specifically for the cluster complement the expertise of the Principal Investigators. A Center for Digital Humanities and our global research network are the most important measures that disseminate the cluster's research results.
Newsroom During the semester the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies offers a variety of events around our research topics. Here you can find an overview of all our events. These are conferences, workshops, seminars, panel discussions or our Joseph C. Miller Memorial Lecture Series.
Civil Society

About Us

About Us Our Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn aims to overcome the binary opposition of "slavery versus freedom". It is a research cluster within the framework of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments. Our cluster of excellence is a joint project of researchers from sociological and anthropological theory, archaeology, Asian and Islamic Studies, religious studies, as well as, theology and German medieval literature, and history. We propose "asymmetrical dependency" as a new key concept including all forms of bondage across time and space.
Overview
People Get to know our team of principal investigators, of research group leaders and doctoral students, of visiting fellows, associated and affiliated researchers and our managment unit.
Boards and Committes
Third Mission
Network

People

People Get to know our team of principal investigators, of research group leaders and doctoral students, of visiting fellows, associated and affiliated researchers and our managment unit.
Principal Investigators The members of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies represent a unique set of disciplines specializing in non-European premodern societies. They have worked with a wide range of societies.
BCDSS Professors
Investigators The members of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies represent a unique set of disciplines specializing in non-European premodern societies. They have worked with a wide range of societies.
Faculty The Faculty of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies consists of four Spokespersons, BCDSS Professors, Research Associates, Research Group Leaders and Doctoral Candidates.
Fellows and Guest Researchers Visiting Fellows and Guest Researchers join the Heinz Heinen Kolleg for Advanced Studies (HHK)
Affiliated Researchers Affiliated Researchers of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies contribute actively to the scientific output of the Center.
Management The Management Unit (MU) coordinates the central activities of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies including the management of administrative services, budgeting and accounting, as well as media and public relations. In addition, the MU is involved in the recruitment and promotion of young scientists and the organization of academic and non-academic relations. The services of the MU support the everyday work of researchers as well as national and international collaborators.
Alumni Find more information about the Alumni of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies.

Principal Investigators

Principal Investigators The members of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies represent a unique set of disciplines specializing in non-European premodern societies. They have worked with a wide range of societies.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Antweiler Prof. Dr. Christoph Antweiler is Principal Investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Martin Aust
Prof. Dr. Matthias Becher Prof. Dr. Matthias Becher is Principal Investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Jan H. Bemmann Prof. Dr. Jan H. Bemmann is Principal Investigator at the BCDSS
Prof. Dr. Martin Bentz Prof. Dr. Martin Bentz is principal investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Berges Prof. Dr. Ulrich Berges is a principal investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Elke Brüggen
Prof. Dr. Stephan Conermann Prof. Dr. Stephan Conermann is speaker of the BCDSS
Prof. Dr. Thomas Duve
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Nikolai Grube
Prof. Dr. Marion Gymnich
Prof. Dr. Julia A. B. Hegewald
Prof. Dr. Wolfram Kinzig
Prof. Dr. Ludwig D. Morenz
Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack
Prof. Dr. Judith Pfeiffer
Prof. Dr. Martin Schermaier
Prof. Dr. Winfried Schmitz
Prof. Dr. Christian Schwermann
Prof. Dr. Peter Schwieger
Prof. Dr. Rudolf Stichweh
Prof. Dr. Konrad Vössing
Prof. Dr. Bethany J. Walker
Prof. Dr. Michael Max Paul Zeuske
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Zöllner

BCDSS Professors

BCDSS Professors
Prof. Dr. Julia Hillner Prof. Dr. Julia Hillner is Clusterprofessor at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Claudia Jarzebowski Prof. Dr. Claudia Jarzebowski is Clusterprofessor at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Pia Wiegmink Prof. Dr. Pia Wiegmink is Clusterprofessor at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Witzenrath

Investigators

Investigators The members of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies represent a unique set of disciplines specializing in non-European premodern societies. They have worked with a wide range of societies.
Dr. Dennis Mario Beck Dr. Dennis Mario Back is an Investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Christian Blumenthal
Prof. Dr. Béla Bodó
Prof. Dr. Jan Dietrich Jan Dietrich is an investigator at the BCDSS
Prof. Dr. Lewis Doney
Prof. Dr. Sabine Feist Prof. Dr. Sabine Feist is an investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Kristina Großmann Prof. Dr. Kristina Großmann is an investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Adrian Hermann Prof. Dr. Adrian Hermann is an investigator at the BCDSS.
PD Dr. Dorothea Heuschert-Laage PD Dr. Dorothea Heuschert-Laage is an investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Christian Hornung Prof. Dr. Christian Hornung is an investigator at the BCDSS.
Dr. Anna Kollatz
Dr. Petra Linscheid
Prof. Dr. Hermut Löhr
Prof. Dr. Sabine N. Meyer Prof. Dr. Sabine N. Meyer is an investigator at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Birgit Münch
Prof. Dr. Dr. Jochen Sautermeister
Prof. Dr. Markus Saur
Dr. des. Kirsten Maria Schäfers
Dr. Gül Şen
Dr. Veruschka Wagner

Faculty

Faculty The Faculty of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies consists of four Spokespersons, BCDSS Professors, Research Associates, Research Group Leaders and Doctoral Candidates.
BCDSS Professorships
Research Group Leaders
Postdoctoral Researchers
Doctoral Candidates

BCDSS Professorships

BCDSS Professorships
Prof. Dr. Julia Hillner Prof. Dr. Julia Hillner is Clusterprofessor at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Claudia Jarzebowski Prof. Dr. Claudia Jarzebowski is Clusterprofessor at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Pia Wiegmink Prof. Dr. Pia Wiegmink is Clusterprofessor at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Witzenrath

Research Group Leaders

Research Group Leaders
Dr. Mariana Armond Dias Paes Mariana Armond Dias Paes is the research group leader of Research Group "Law and the Creation of Dependency in the Ibero-Atlantic"
Dr. Claude Chevaleyre Dr. Claude Chevaleyre is a researcher and the coordinator of Research Group "Beyond Slavery: Dependency in Asian History"
Dr. Christian Giuseppe De Vito Dr. Christian G. De Vito is Research Area D Speaker and coordinator of Research Group "Punishment, Labor and Dependency"
Dr. Lisa Hellman Dr. Lisa Hellman is researcher and coordinator of Research Group "Coerced Circulation of Knowledge".
Dr. Sinah Kloß Dr. Sinah Kloß researcher and coordinator of Research Group "Marking Power: Embodied Dependencies, Haptic Regimes and Body Modification".
Dr. Christian Mader Dr. Christian Mader researcher and coordinator of the Research Group "The Archaeology of Dependency (ArchDepth): Resources, Power and Status Differentiation"
Dr. Jutta Wimmler Dr. Jutta Wimmler is research group leader at the BCDSS
Dr. Julia Winnebeck Dr. Julia Winnebeck is a research group leader at the BCDSS.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Vitali Bartash Vitali Bartash is a postdoctoral researcher at the BCDSS.
Dr. James M. Harland
Dr. Emma Kalb Postdoctoral Researcher at the BCDSS
Dr. Josef Köstlbauer Dr. Josef Köstlbauer is a postdoctoral researcher at the BCDSS.
Dr. Jennifer Leetsch Researcher Profil
Eva Marie Lehner Dr. Eva Marie Lehner ist postdoctoral researcher at the BCDSS.
Dr. Viola Müller Dr. Viola Müller is a postdoctoral researcher at the BCDSS.
Dr. Elena Smolarz Dr. Elena Smolarz is a postdoctoral researcher at the BCDSS.

Doctoral Candidates

Doctoral Candidates
Malik Ade Malik Ade is doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Boluwatife Akinro
Turkana Allahverdiyeva Turkana Allahverdiyeva is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS:
Anas Ansar
Dita Auziņa Dita Auziņa is a doctroal candidate at the BCDSS.
Maja E. Baum Maja E. Baum is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Bahar Bayraktaroğlu Bahar Bayraktaroğlu is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Joseph Biggerstaff Joseph Biggerstaff is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Giulia Cappucci Giulia Cappucci is doctoral candiate athe BCDSS.
Claire Conrad Claire Conrad is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Juelma Da Conceição Gomes De Matos De Ngãla Juelma Da Conceição Gomes De Matos De Ngãla is a doctoral candidate.
Maysa Espíndola Souza Maysa Espíndola Souza is a doctoral candidate.
Adam Fagbore Adam Fagbore is a doctoral candidate.
Katja Girr Katja Girr is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Magnus Goffin Magnus Goffin is a doctoral candidate.
Paul Graf Paul Graf is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Nolwenn Guedeau Nolwenn Guedeau is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Zeynep Y. Gökce Zeynep Y. Gökce is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Honey Hammer Honey Hammer is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Henriette von Harnier Henriette von Harnier is a doctoral researcher at the BCDSS.
Clara Hedtrich Clara Hedtrich is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Samuel Huckleberry Samuel Huckleberry is a doctoral candidate.
Ayesha Hussain Ayesha Hussain is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Luvena Kopp
Susana Macías Pascua Susana Macías Pascua is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Ricardo Márquez García Ricardo Márquez García is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Danitza L. Márquez Ramírez Danitza L. Márquez Ramírez is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Stanislav Mohylnyi Stanislav Mohylnyi is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Lena Muders Lena Muders is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS
Lisa Phongsavath Lisa Phongsavath is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Jahfar Shareef Pokkanali Jahfar Shareef Pokkanali is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
David Ponwitz David Ponwitz is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Alexander Rothenberg Alexander Rothenberg is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Christine Mae Sarito Christine Mae Sarito is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Julia Schmidt Julia Schmidt is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Nabhojeet Sen Nabhojeet Sen is a doctroal candidate at the BCDSS.
David Smith David Smith is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Taynã Tagliati Souza Taynã Tagliati Souza is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Laurie Venters Laurie Venters is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Tamia Viteri Toledo Tamia Viteri Toledo is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS.
Lukas Wissel Lukas Wissel is a doctoral candidate at the BCDSS:
Patrick Zeidler Patrick Zeidler is a doctoral candidate.

Fellows and Guest Researchers

Fellows and Guest Researchers Visiting Fellows and Guest Researchers join the Heinz Heinen Kolleg for Advanced Studies (HHK)
International Fellows Get an overview of the current international fellows at the Heinz Heinen Kolleg for Advanced Studies (HHK).
Guest Researchers Learn more about the current guest researchers at the BCDSS.
Internal Fellows Internal Fellows at the Heinz Heinen Kolleg for Advanced Studies (HHK).

International Fellows

International Fellows Get an overview of the current international fellows at the Heinz Heinen Kolleg for Advanced Studies (HHK).
Dr. David Beresford-Jones
Dr. Chiriac Bogdan
Dr. Klara Boyer-Rossol
Dr. Frank J. Cirillo Dr. Frank J. Cirillo is a fellow at the BCDSS
Dr. Mònica Ginés-Blasi
Dr. Lori De Lucia
Dr. Claudia Rauhut
Prof. Dr. Chioma Daisy Onyige
Anne Vater Anne Vater is Ph.D. candidate at the BCDSS
Dr. Fırat Yaşa Dr. Fırat Yaşa is a fellow at the BCDSS.

Guest Researchers

Guest Researchers Learn more about the current guest researchers at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Paulo Cruz Terra
Prof. Dr. Frank Perlin

Affiliated Researchers

Affiliated Researchers Affiliated Researchers of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies contribute actively to the scientific output of the Center.
Prof. Dr. Manuel Barcia Prof. Dr. Manuel Barcia Paz is a affiliated researcher at the BCDSS
Prof. Dr. Martin Ebner
Dr. Alain El Youssef
Prof. Dr. Roberto Hofmeister Pich
Dr. Caroline Laske
Dr. Paola Revilla Orías
PD Dr. Ulrike Schmieder

Management

Management The Management Unit (MU) coordinates the central activities of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies including the management of administrative services, budgeting and accounting, as well as media and public relations. In addition, the MU is involved in the recruitment and promotion of young scientists and the organization of academic and non-academic relations. The services of the MU support the everyday work of researchers as well as national and international collaborators.
Managing Director
Acting Managing Director
Head of Research and Study
Project Assistant
Translator and Academic Editor
eTeaching Coordinator
Event Coordinator

Alumni

Alumni Find more information about the Alumni of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies.
Prof. Dr. Andrew H. Apter
André Luís Bezerra Ferreira
Prof. Dr. Stefan Brink
Prof. Dr. Trevor Burnard
Dr. John F. Chuchiak IV
Ruth Ennis Ruth Ennis is fellow at the BCDSS
Dr. Fabrizio Filioli Uranio
Prof. Dr. Jane Hathaway
Prof. Dr. Dr. Manfred Hutter
Dr. Royce Mahawatte
Dr. Lotte Pelckmans
Prof. Dr. Ludolf Pelizaeus
Prof. Dr. Boudewijn Sirks Prof. Dr. Boudewijn Sirks is a fellow at the BCDSS.
Prof. Dr. Serena Tolino

Third Mission

Third Mission
Equal Opportunities & Diversity We celebrate diversity and gender equality. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment and fair treatment for all our members. We attach great importance to fostering a multinational community.
Sustainability The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies is committed to raising awareness for sustainability and environmentally-friendly behavior. By implementing a sustainability strategy, we can make a contribution to the protection of our climate.

Research

Research In spite of the diverse forms that human bondage and coercion have taken over time, academic debates in the modern West have primarily focused on the most extreme one: slavery, and in particular, the trans-Atlantic experience of slavery which was closely entangled with the creation of the modern West. It still continues to inform our notions of what freedom and a lack of freedom mean. "Slavery" and "freedom" are ideologically charged terms. We will therefore use a more neutral terminology, and so move beyond the binary opposition of "slavery versus freedom" by suggesting "asymmetrical dependency" – or, more precisely, "strong asymmetrical dependency" as a new key concept, which includes debt bondage, convict labor, tributary labor, servitude, serfdom, and domestic work as well as forms of wage labor and various types of patronage.
Research Areas
Research Groups
Working Groups
Third-Party Funded Projects Connected to the BCDSS and Its Members Third-Party Funded Projects Connected to the BCDSS and Its Members
Slavery Digital Humanities Slavery Digital Humanities – Websites, Databases, Digital Archives and Collections
Library Resources at the BCDSS

Research Areas

Research Areas
Research Area A: Semantics – Lexical Fields – Narratives RA Muster
Research Area B: Embodied Dependencies RA Muster B
Research Area C: Institutions, Norms and Practices RA Muster C
Research Area D: Labor and Spatiality RA Muster D
Research Area E: Gender (and Intersectionality) RA Muster E

Research Groups

Research Groups
The Archaeology of Dependency (ArchDepth): Resources, Power and Status Differentiation
Beyond Slavery: Dependency in Asian History
Coerced Circulation of Knowledge
The Concept of Slavery in African History
Law and the Creation of Dependency in the Ibero-Atlantic
Marking Power: Embodied Dependencies, Haptic Regimes and Body Modification
Punishment, Labor and Dependency
Structures of Dependency in the Late Antique and Early Medieval Western Church

Library Resources at the BCDSS

Library Resources at the BCDSS
BCDSS ULB Section BCDSS ULB Section
BCDSS Library Ancient Slavery BCDSS Library Ancient Slavery

Publications

Publications The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies has different publication series: Monographs and edited volumes aimed at the scientific community, BCDSS Discussion Papers are articles reporting on research results from current projects. They are usually subsequently published in scholarly journals. BCDSS Working Papers report on preliminary research results or contribute to current debates. In addition, we offer you our quarterly newsletter and our cluster magazine DEPENDENT. Both publications provide information about the work of the cluster and give an insight into events and our research projects. sehepunkte is an interdisciplinary review journal and presents not only an ever-changing repertoire of reviews but also discussions of both monographs and edited collections in fields such as the history of medicine, law and art.
BCDSS Publishing Series
Monographs and Edited Volumes by BCDSS members
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
Contributions to Edited Volumes
Sehepunkte
Cluster Magazine "DEPENDENT"
REVLATT

BCDSS Publishing Series

BCDSS Publishing Series
BCDSS Book Series The BCDSS Books Series "Beyond Slavery and Freedom: Asymmetrical Dependencies in Pre-Modern Societies"
Joseph C. Miller Memorial Lecture Series The Cluster has established a lecture series in the memory of Joseph C. Miller
BCDSS Working Papers The Working Paper Series is conceptualized as "works in progress".
BCDSS Concept Papers The Concept Paper Series is conceptualized as "living papers";
BCDSS Discussion Papers BCDSS Discussion Papers

Academic and master programs

Academic and master programs Our cluster of excellence provides a graduate school and a fellow program. Three professorships that are implemented by the University specifically for the cluster complement the expertise of the Principal Investigators. A Center for Digital Humanities and our global research network are the most important measures that disseminate the cluster's research results.
Master Programs
Doctoral Program at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies

Master Programs

Master Programs
Two-Year Master "Dependency and Slavery Studies"
One-Year Master
Frequently Asked Questions Please find frequently asked questions to the application process here. The FAQs usually refer to both programs, unless otherwise stated.
News & Information Master Programs of BCDSS - Guidelines
Evaluation As part of our quality management, we regularly evaluate the courses of our MA programs “Dependency and Slavery Studies“ and “Slavery Studies“ since the winter term 2020/21 resp. the winter term 2021/22.

Newsroom

Newsroom During the semester the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies offers a variety of events around our research topics. Here you can find an overview of all our events. These are conferences, workshops, seminars, panel discussions or our Joseph C. Miller Memorial Lecture Series.
Upcoming Events
News
BCDSS Newsletter
Cluster Magazine "DEPENDENT"

Civil Society

Civil Society
Resources of Power
Who's got the Power? Film series Who's got the power?
Wissenschaftsrallye 2022 Wissenschaftsrallye 2022

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