History of Knowledge
Knowledge has history and knowledge makes history. The critical history of knowledge, which has been booming for quite some time, is based on and reflects this double historicity of knowledge. International History at the University of Trier contributes to the further development of the historical subfield with research projects that focus primarily on the meaning of knowledge in colonial contexts. Two dissertation projects use a knowledge-historical framework of analysis to examine the significance of knowledge for colonial and religious constructions of alterity and the associated reflexive agendas in the context of settler colonialism (Thomas Schira) and the German “Kulturkampf” (Stefan Dixius). A completed dissertation has focused on the relevance of veterinary knowledge for colonial rule in southern Africa (Klemens Wedekind), and another project examines the role of colonial natural history collections in the production, circulation, and use of "knowledge about the world" in terms of an entangled history of natural science and colonialism (Eva Bischoff in collaboration with Anja Schwarz, Potsdam University).
Research Projects
Partner Institutions
Cultural Heritage Studies Trier (CHeST) Universität Trier