Werdegang
Current Positions
| 2009-present | Director Käte Hamburger Kolleg “Work and Human Life Course in Global History” (re:work”), funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) |
| 2007-present | Professor (Chair) of African History at Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany |
Previous Positions
| 2002 – 2007 | Full Professor of Modern History with a focus on African History, University of Hamburg |
| 2000 – 2002 | Assistant Professor of African History at Humboldt University Berlin, Germany |
| 1998 – 2000 | Researcher, Center for Modern Oriental Studies, Berlin |
| 1995 – 1998 | Assistant Professor, Institute of Asian and African Studies, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany |
| 1991 – 1994 | Research Assistant at History Department, University of Hamburg |
Education
| 2002 | Postdoctoral Lecturer Qualification / Habilitation (Venia for Modern and Contemporary History), Humboldt University Berlin, Germany, Faculty of Philosophy I |
| 1995 | Ph.D. (Modern History), University of Hamburg, Germany |
| 1990 | M.A. (History), University of Hamburg |
| (1985-1990 Studies in History, French and Journalism in Hamburg, Yaoundé and Aix-Provence) | |
| [I spent 12 months as an undergraduate at the University of Yaoundé (1986/87), 14 months in Cameroon for Ph.D research (1992/93), 12 months in total for postdoctoral research in Tanzania (1996-2000), plus various shorter research and conference trips to numerous African countries, e,g. Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa] |
Sprachen
Englisch, Französisch, Spanisch (moderat), Portugiesisch (Basisc), Swahili (Basic)
Fellowships and Awards (Selection)
| 2018-19 | Member Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, School of Social Science |
| 2017 | Guest of the Principle, Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala |
| 2016 | Kratter Professorship, Stanford University |
| 2016 | Fellow Institut d’Etudes Avancées de Nantes |
| 2015 | Directeur d’Etudes invité, EHESS, Paris |
| 2014 | Visiting Fellow Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) |
| 2013 | Fellow Maison de l’Histoire, Université de Genève |
| 2013 | Fellow Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, University of Michigan Ann Arbor |
| 2012 | Fellow Freiburg Institute of Advanced Studies (FRIAS) |
| 2007 | Visiting Professor, Harvard University, Department of History |
| 2006 | Directeur d’Etudes invité, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris |
| 2005 | Visiting Professor, University of Indiana, Bloomington |
| 2002 | Directeur d’Etudes invité, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris |
| 2000 | Habilitation Grant German Historical Institute London |
| 2000 | Visiting Fellow, Center for African Studies, SOAS, University of London |
Competitive Research Grants (current; Selection)
German Research Council (DFG)/AHRC: Funding c. 800.000 €: “Where have all the workers gone. Labour and Work in Postcolonial Ghana” (together with Gareth Austin, University of Cambridge), 2022-2024
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Funding: Euro 18 Mio. Käte Hamburger Kolleg “Work and Human Life Course in Global History”, 2009-2023
Senate of Berlin / Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF): Euro 3,8 Mio: Forum Transregional Studies, 2013-2020 (together with Wissenschaftskolleg, Max-Weber Foundation); from 2021 on annual funding of 500 000 € from the land Berlin
German Research Council (DFG): Graduate Program “Global Intellectual History”, Euro 5 Mio; 2017-2021; 2021-2025 (together with Sebastian Conrad, Free University Berlin)
Gerda Henkel Stiftung: 300 000 €, 2019-2022 (Provenance Research National Museum Dar es Salaam)
Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script” (PI: Leader of research unit re-allocation; Member of the Cluster’s Board): 2020-2026
Advisory Boards / Chairpersonships (Selection)
| Since 2020 | Merian Institute for Advanced Study in Africa (MIASA), Accra (Chair of Board) |
| 2015 -present | German Historical Institute Paris (Vice-Chair of Board; since 10/2021: Chair) |
| 2012 -present | Chair, Forum Transregional Studies |
| 2009 -present | Conseil scientifique, Point Sud, Bamako/Frankfurt |
| 2009 -present | Member, Council International African Institute, London |
| 2007 - 2018 | Chairman Arbeitskreis für Moderne Sozialgeschichte e.V. (Council for Modern Social History) |
| 2014 - 2016 | President German Association of African Studies |
| 2013 - 2017 | Conseil d’Administration, EHESS Paris |
| 2010 - 2016 | Council German Historical Association |
Reviews for Scientific Organizations
Agence National de Recherche (ANR) / Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) / Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) / Volkswagenstiftung / Fritz Thyssen Stiftung / Wissenschaftsrat / Alexander von Humboldt Foundation / German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) / Gerda Henkel Stiftung / Max Weber Foundation / Max-Planck Gesellschaft / British Academy / Swiss National Fund / European Research Council / European Science Foundation / Guggenheim Foundation / Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research / Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa / FWF Wissenschaftsfond, Austria / German Israeli Foundation / Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften/Österreichischer Austauschdienst (OeAD)/ Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
Reviews for Academic Institutions and Universities ( Fellowships / Tenure / Promotions)
Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin / Historisches Kolleg, Munich / Freiburg Institute of Advanced Study / Stanford Humanities Center / Institut d’Etudes Avancées Nantes / Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton / Institut von der Wissenschaft vom Menschen, Vienna / British Institute in Eastern Africa / Royal Dutch Academy / EHESS / European University Institute, Florence / School of Oriental and African Studies, London / University of Durham, UK / University of Edinburgh / Stanford University / University of California, San Diego / Rutgers University / Sciences Po / Yale University / Northwestern University / University of Chicago
Reviews for Academic Publishers
Amsterdam University Press / C.H. Beck Publishers / Cambridge University Press / Columbia University Press / Harvard University Press / Heidelberg University Press / Indiana University Press / James Currey Publishers / Ohio University Press / Princeton University Press / Routledge / Palgrave, MacMillan / University of Virginia Press
Reviews for Academic Journals
African Studies Review / Africa Spectrum / African Identities/ Afrika Zamani /Afrique Contemporaine / American Ethnologist / Annales / Cahiers d’Études Africaines / Cahiers des Mondes Russes/ Canadian Journal of African Studies / Canadian Journal of History /Cold War Review / European Journal of Sociology / History and Environment /History and Memory / Internationale Schulbuchforschung / International Journal of African Historical Studies / International Review of Social History/ Journal of African History / Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History /Journal of Contemporary History /Journal of Global History / Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History / Journal of Urban History / Labour History / Moving the Social / Nordic African Studies / Österreichische Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft / Outre-Mers. Revue d’Histoire / Politique Africaine / Social Anthropology