Category: Culture and Society

Mauthausen Memorial, Austria

Interview & Opinion

“These social situations were multi-layered and complex”

Interview: Jonas Vogt

Contemporary historian Gerhard Botz has dedicated his academic life to studying National Socialism. Most recently he has carried out in-depth research on the Mauthausen concentration camp. In this interview he talks about the significance of the camp, its “grey areas” and past episodes that are still taboo today. Continue reading ““These social situations were multi-layered and complex””
Ariane Sadjed

Portrait

Looking beyond stereotypes

By Jonas Vogt

Ariane Sadjed has always had a problem with the one-dimensional images of modern Iran that she encountered both inside and outside of academia. A cultural scientist, Sadjed has been conducting anthropological research on the topic of “being Jewish in Iran” for ten years. What has struck her quite often in the process is the discrepancy […] Continue reading “Looking beyond stereotypes”
Fayum Basin, Egypt

Projects

What court proceedings on papyri reveal about life in the Roman Empire

Egypt was once a province of the Imperium Romanum, and papyri found there provide information about the court cases of that time. Researchers in Vienna who are investigating and reclassifying these historical sources are convinced that they not only provide information about life in Egypt, but are also relevant for our view of the Roman […] Continue reading “What court proceedings on papyri reveal about life in the Roman Empire”

Projects

Exile equates with translation

The Exil:Trans research group explores the hitherto overlooked trajectories of persons who managed to flee the terror of the Nazi regime and became active as translators in exile. The project raises awareness of the importance of translating as a bridge between different worlds and cultures. A freely accessible database now provides tangible proof of the […] Continue reading “Exile equates with translation”
Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina (1971–2019)

Projects

The IMF generation: development aid as reflected in African literature

Exploited by colonialism and deprived of power: what does modern East African literature tell us about how the Kenyan population coped with measures of economic and social development? A transdisciplinary study of literature by Martina Kopf, an African literature scholar, zooms in on how the population perceives the impact of “well-intentioned” development cooperation and neoliberal […] Continue reading “The IMF generation: development aid as reflected in African literature”
Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Moscow

Projects

Art museums and foundations of Russian oligarchs

Over the past fifteen years, Russian billionaires and their foundations gained influence at home and abroad and became significant players in the Kremlin’s soft power politics. Their activities became increasingly strategic and globally networked. Historian Waltraud Maria Bayer has addressed their evolution in the first comprehensive basic study on the topic. Continue reading “Art museums and foundations of Russian oligarchs”