Universität Bonn

BCDSS

Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
  • About Us
  • Research
  • Publications
  • Academic Programs
  • Newsroom
  • Growing Exhibition
Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
  • 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 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.
  • Growing Exhibition
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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Aust Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Matthias Becher Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Jan H. Bemmann Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Bentz Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrich Berges Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Elke Brüggen Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Stephan Conermann Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Duve Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Nikolai Grube Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Marion Gymnich Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Julia Hegewald Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Wolfram Kinzig Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Ludwig D. Morenz Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Judith Pfeiffer Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Martin Schermaier Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Winfried Schmitz Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Christian Schwermann Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Peter Schwieger Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Rudolf Stichweh Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Konrad Vössing Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Bethany J. Walker Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Michael Zeuske Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Prof. Dr. Reinhard Zöllner Principal Investigator and Founding Member
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 Associate of BCDSS Professorships BCDSS Research Associate
  • Research Group Leaders
  • Postdoctoral Researchers
  • Doctoral Candidates
BCDSS Professorships
  • BCDSS Professorships
  • Prof. Dr. Julia Hillner
  • Prof. Dr. Claudia Jarzebowski BCDSS Professor
  • Prof. Dr. Pia Wiegmink BCDSS Professor
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph Witzenrath BCDSS Professor
Research Group Leaders
  • Research Group Leaders
  • Dr. Mariana Armond Dias Paes Research Group Leader
  • Dr. Claude Chevaleyre Research Group Leader
  • Dr. Christian Guiseppe De Vito Principal Investigator and Founding Member
  • Dr. Lisa Hellman Research Group Leader
  • Dr. Sinah Kloß Research Group Leader
  • Dr. Christian Mader Research Group Leader
  • Dr. Hanne Østhus Research Group Leader
  • Dr. Jutta Wimmler Research Group Leader
  • Dr. Julia Winnebeck Research Group Leader
Postdoctoral Researchers
  • Postdoctoral Researchers
  • Dr. Viola Müller Postdoc
Doctoral Candidates
  • Doctoral Candidates
  • Malik Ade Doctoral Candidate
  • Boluwatife Akinro Doctoral Candidate
  • Turkana Allahverdiyeva Doctoral Candidate
  • Anas Ansar Doctoral Candidate
  • Dita Auziņa Doctoral Candidate
  • Claire Conrad Doctoral Candidate
  • Juelma Da Conceição Gomes De Matos De Ngãla Doctoral Candidate
  • Maysa Espíndola Souza Doctoral Candidate
  • Adam Fagbore Doctoral Candidate
  • Katja Girr Doctoral Candidate
  • Ricardo Márquez García Doctoral Candidate
  • Zeynep Y. Gökce Doctoral Candidate
  • Magnus Goffin Doctoral Candidate
  • Paul Graf Doctoral Candidate
  • Honey Hammer Doctoral Candidate
  • Henriette von Harnier Doctoral Candidate
  • Clara Hedtrich Doctoral Candidate
  • Ayesha Hussain Doctoral Candidate
  • Susana Macías Pascua Doctoral Candidate
  • Danitza L. Márquez Ramírez Doctoral Candidate
  • Stanislav Mohylnyi Doctoral Candidate
  • Lena Muders Doctoral Candidate
  • Lisa Phongsavath Doctoral Candidate
  • Jahfar Shareef Pokkanali Doctoral Candidate
  • David Ponwitz Doctoral Candidate
  • Alexander Rothenberg Doctoral Candidate
  • Christine Mae Sarito Doctoral Candidate
  • Nabhojeet Sen Doctoral Candidate
  • Taynã Tagliati Souza Doctoral Candidate
  • David B. Smith Doctoral Candidate
  • Laurie Venters Doctoral Candidate
  • Tamia Viteri Toledo Doctoral Candidate
  • Lukas Wissel Doctoral Candidate
  • Patrick Zeidler Doctoral Candidate
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 Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Béla Bodó Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Sabine Feist Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Kristina Großmann Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Adrian Hermann Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Christian Hornung Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Hermut Löhr Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Birgit Münch Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Markus Saur Principal Investigator
  • Prof. Dr. Dr. Jochen Sautermeister Principal Investigator
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.
International Fellows
  • International Fellows Get an overview of the current international fellows at the Heinz Heinen Kolleg for Advanced Studies (HHK).
  • Prof. Dr. Andrew H. Apter
  • Dr. David Beresford-Jones
  • Dr. Klara Boyer-Rossol
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Brink
  • Prof. Dr. Trevor Burnard
  • Dr. Fabrizio Filioli Uranio
  • Prof. Dr. Jane Hathaway
  • Dr. Josef Köstlbauer
  • Dr. Caroline Laske
  • Dr. Royce Mahawatte
  • Dr. Claudia Rauhut
  • Dr. Paola Revilla Orías
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. Martin Ebner
  • Dr. Alain El Youssef
  • Prof. Dr. Roberto Hofmeister Pich
  • Dr. Anna Kollatz
  • Dr. Paola A. Revilla
  • Dr. Gül Şen
  • Dr. Veruschka Wagner
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
  • Head of Research and Study
  • Press and PR Manager
  • Project Assistant
  • Translator and Academic Editor
  • Publications Manager
  • eTeaching Coordinator
  • Event Coordinator
  • Team Assistant
  • Student Assistant
Alumni
  • Alumni Find more information about the Alumni of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies.
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Brink
  • Dr. Lotte Pelckmans
  • Prof. Dr. Serena Tolino
Third Mission
  • Third Mission
  • 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.
Network
  • Network
  • Third-Party Funded Projects Connected to the BCDSS and Its Members
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
Research Areas
  • Research Areas
  • Research Area A: Semantics – Lexical Fields – Narratives In Research Area A, we approach the phenomenon of slavery and other types of strong asymmetrical dependencies from three methodologically and theoretically distinct perspectives: (1) Semantics, (2) Lexical Fields and (3) Narratives.
  • Research Area B: Embodied Dependencies In Research Area B, we approach the phenomenon of slavery and other types of strong asymmetrical dependencies by taking into consideration a pre-colonial perspective. We aim at establishing archaeology, art history, and object-based anthropology on an equal level with other disciplines of the humanities that focus on written sources
  • Research Area C: Institutions, Norms and Practices Dependency is created at the crossroads of norms and related institutions and practices. In this context, the central fields of study in Research Area C are legislation and legal practice, establishing norms and social practice, as well as literacy and orality.
  • Research Area D: Labor and Spatiality Research Area D no longer adopts European free wage labor as the standard labor relation of modernity. Instead of this approach it takes all forms of labor into account in equal measure: "free" and "unfree" forms of labor, productive and reproductive labor, capitalist and non-capitalist labor relations – in both Western and non-Western societies, from within and beyond European (colonial) history.
  • Research Area E: Gender (and Intersectionality) Research Area E focuses specifically on asymmetrical power relationships as reflected in gender relations and gender orders. The "gendering of the history of asymmetrical dependencies" makes it possible to discern differences and complementary structures in the experience of bonded and oppressed men and women, as well as of gender-conforming and -nonconforming individuals.
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
  • Dependency, Gender, and Labor in the Household
  • 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
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's Publishing Series
  • Monographs and Edited Volumes by BCDSS members
  • Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
  • Contributions to Edited Volumes
  • Sehepunkte
BCDSS's Publishing Series
  • BCDSS's Publishing Series
  • BCDSS Book Series "Beyond Slavery and Freedom" 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";
Academic Programs
  • Academic 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.
  • MA Programs
  • Doctoral Program at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
  • Heinz Heinen Fellowship Program
MA Programs
  • MA Programs
  • Two-Year Master "Dependency and Slavery Studies"
  • One-Year Master "Slavery Studies"
  • Frequently Asked Questions Please find frequently asked questions to the application process here. The FAQs usually refer to both programs, unless otherwise stated.
  • News & Guidelines Master Programs of BCDSS - Guidelines
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.
  • Events
  • News
  • Cluster Magazine "DEPENDENT"
  • BCDSS Newsletter
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  2. Newsroom
  3. Events

September

Lecture series
Monday, 06.09.2021 16:00

The Early Slave Trade
Lecture series
Monday, 13.09.2021 16:00

The Art of Healing.
Lecture series
Monday, 20.09.2021 16:00

Symbolic Acrobatics & Economic Phenomena in early Mesopotamia
Event
Wednesday, 22.09.2021 00:00

Annual Conference "Embodied Dependencies"
Lecture series
Monday, 27.09.2021 16:00

Tracking Dependency in late-antique Roman domestic architecture
Event
Tuesday, 28.09.2021 15:30

In the Grip of the Supernatural

October

Thursday, 14.10.2021 15:00

Artistic Communities and Patronage in Asia
Wird geladen
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