Further Information - Dr. Christin Hansen

Research Projects

PhD thesis (completed, published in 2021 by Campus Verlag)

Title: "Wilde" im deutschen Identitätsdiskurs 1830-1870. Spuren des Exotischen im nationeln Denken und in kolonialen Bildern

In 19th-century Europe, the exotic Other increasingly captured people’s imagination and attention. Various ethnic groups were stigmatised as “wild” or “exotic”. These included, amongst others, the Bedouins, North American Indians and Cossacks. Despite the historical differences between the respective groups, significant similarities in perception can be identified, which had an impact on the self-perception and identity formation of the host society or societies. Using German-language travelogues and novels, the stereotypes were examined and conclusions drawn regarding the form and function of the exotic in the mental maps of Central Europeans in the 19th century. This demonstrated the emergence of pre-colonial thinking in German-language discourse, as well as a shift in the concepts of civilised versus uncivilised.

Current Project

Title: Internationale Beteiligung von Frauen am Spanischen Bürgerkrieg: Konzepte und Praktiken weiblicher Partizipation in der Zwischenkriegszeit

The participation of volunteers from other countries during wars is not a new phenomenon in history: in the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries, women from abroad, alongside men, took on various roles, of which the traditional ones—such as supply work or nursing—are particularly well remembered. Beyond these traditional roles, however, the voluntary participation of women in armed conflicts has so far been surprisingly little studied. In this project, the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) serves as an example: Amidst the ideological conflicts between communism and anti-communism, and fascism and anti-fascism, women were able to reposition themselves in previously unknown ways, thereby opening up new spheres of action and roles for themselves within the context of the war. This makes it possible to understand the rapid transformation of gender relations and roles during the interwar period against the backdrop of radical ideological, military and pacifist conflicts. The Spanish Civil War is thus understood in the project as a space in which both the involvement of women (and men) on the ground and the reception or evaluation of this involvement by the participants themselves and their communities of origin are examined.

The project thus not only contributes to gender history but also opens up a new perspective on war as a site of negotiation for processes of participation.