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Tagged: Early Modern Europe

Conference Report: KFG Annual Conference “Making Boundaries”

While the topic of boundaries has received considerable scholarly attention, this conference focussed on the dynamic processes of making, maintaining and modifying or crossing boundaries and brought together scholars from various disciplines discussing case studies from Europe, the Mediterranean and South Asia from Antiquity to today…

The Jewish Town of Izbica: History Inscribed in Space

In June, together with other members of the Urbanity and Religion research group, I went on an excursion to Mühlhausen. Our main aim was to visit the Thuringian state exhibition Freiheit 1525. 500 Years of the Peasants’ War. However, we also had time to take a walk through the beautiful historic town. As we were exploring the town, I came across a Stolperstein in memory of Leopold Löbenstein, who was deported in 1942 and, presumably, died in Izbica. This small town, located around 250 kilometres south-east of Warsaw, served as a transit ghetto during the Second World War, to which many Jews from Western Europe were deported…

Conference Report: Necrogeographies of the Marginal Dead

Dealing with the dead and death is a topic that attracts scholars of every period. The universal question of transitioning from one state-of-being into the other represents a basic process applicable to every human being. As we all die one day and become part of the dead, their whereabouts and treatment will eventually affect every one of us. That is why this conference’s topic Necrogeographies of the Marginal Dead has a natural attraction to it because all of us will die one day and join the ranks of the dead…

2025 Entries in “Religion & Urbanity Online”

In 2025, there were 16 new entries in the database “Religion and Urbanity Online” so far. They cover the time span from antiquity to modernity, cities as different as Aleppo, Singapore and Sens, and approach religion and urbanity from a range of disciplines, including history, anthropology, literature studies and the history of religions. Enjoy reading!

कालीकट की सड़कों पर चलते हुए (I)

जैसा कि इस ब्लॉग के पाठक पहले से जानते हैं, मैं  अक्सर कालीकट आती रहती हूं। शहर का आधिकारिक नाम “कोष़िकोड” है (मलयालम में: കോഴിക്കോട്), लेकिन इस शब्द का यूरोप वालों के लिए उच्चारण करना कठिन है, इसलिए हम इसे कालीकट ही कहेंगे। कहा जाता है कि अरब व्यापारियों ने इसे यह नाम (क़ालिक़ूट) दिया था।

Workshop: Necrogeographies of the Marginal Dead (15-16 May 2025)

Critical studies of death (thanatology) have illuminated how human societies organize spaces of burial according to gender, race, class, sexual preference, and religion. Informed by these works “Necrogeographies of the Marginal Dead” introduces how studies of death, especially of persons within groups excluded from systems of power in the living world, illuminate how the structures of power exceed life extending into the afterlives of the dead…

An early modern representation of the square augmented city in M. Eruvin 5:1 from the Surenhuys Latin tAn early modern representation of the square augmented city in M. Eruvin 5:1 from the Surenhuys Latin translation of the Mishnahranslation of the Mishnah

Podcast: Making New Faith In/Visible

On 6 and 7 June 2024, the “Religion and Urbanity” research group held an international workshop in Erfurt entitled “Making New Faith In/Visible.” Bringing together scholars from a range of disciplines, the workshop delved into the critical, yet often underexplored question of how religious movements negotiate their visibility—or invisibility—within urban settings…

13th City Walk on Urban and Religious Spaces of Knowledge

On 16th October 2024 we delved into hidden treasures and fascinating Spaces of Knowledge in a city walk excellently prepared by Aileen Becker and Constanze Schaller. As always, the event presented a joyful opportunity to learn more about Erfurt’s history and topography and get to know other members of the KFG better. During the tour, the question of accessibility to Spaces of Knowledge emerged as a common thread.

“Borders” at the Körber Foundation

„Borders“ (Grenzen) is the topic of this year history competition of the state president of Germany by the Körber Foundation (Netzwerktagung zum Geschichtswettbewerb des Bundespräsidenten 2024/2025). To kick start the event, Sara Keller and Sebastian Dorsch have been invited to give an impulse talk at the preparatory workshop of the Körber Foundation…