Susanne Rau

Professor Susanne Rau serves as Professor for the History and Cultures of Spaces in Modern Times within the Department of History at the University of Erfurt's Faculty of Arts and Humanities. She holds multiple significant academic roles including Fellow and Spokesperson of the Kolleg Research Group at the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, Program Supervisor for the Master's program in Collection-Related History of Knowledge and Culture, and Member of the Doctoral Committee of the Faculty of Philosophy since 2009. Her institutional leadership extends to coordinating Erasmus partnerships with universities across France, Spain, and Italy, and serving as contact person for university cooperation with Jamia Millia Islamia and Kannur University in India.

Professor Rau's research establishes her as a pioneer in spatial history, with groundbreaking work on the intersections between urban development and religious practices. Her scholarship reveals sophisticated analysis of how spaces are constructed, perceived, and utilized across historical contexts, particularly examining European and South Asian urban centers. She has developed innovative frameworks for understanding urbanity as a historical concept, exploring how different cultures have conceptualized urban spaces through time. Her research on early modern European cities, especially Lyon and Hamburg, demonstrates exceptional attention to public spaces, tavern cultures, and spatial configurations that shaped social interactions.

Her extensive publication record shows consistent methodological innovation, particularly in the spatial turn in historical scholarship. Recent work demonstrates increasing emphasis on comparative urban studies between European and South Asian contexts, with significant focus on Calicut (Kozhikode). Professor Rau has pioneered digital approaches to historical research through projects like the GlobMapLab, which uses computational tools to analyze historical cartographic collections, particularly the renowned Perthes collection in Gotha. Her collaborative work with the "Religion & Urbanity" research group represents a major contribution to understanding how religious practices both shape and are shaped by urban environments.

• 2023 Thuringian Research Prize (Basic Research)
• 2023 Palmes Académiques ("chevalier")
• 2021 Award for internationalization of the University of Erfurt
• 2018-2021 Distinguished Visiting Professorship at the École Normale supérieure de Lyon
• 2017 Gay-Lussac Humboldt Prize of the French Academy of Sciences
• 2017 "Geisteswissenschaften International" Prize for promoting humanities translation
• 2015 Vienna Prize for urban history research
• 2009 Heisenberg Professorship of the German Research Foundation
• 2008 Young Talent Award from the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation

As an academic leader, Professor Rau has directed substantial research initiatives including the "Religion & Urbanity" collaborative research group funded by the German Research Foundation, and previously served as Vice President for Research and Young Talent Development at the University of Erfurt (2014-2017). She has secured funding from prestigious organizations including the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, German Research Foundation, and various European funding bodies. Her editorial leadership extends to co-editing the SpatioTemporality series with De Gruyter and serving on multiple journal editorial boards, significantly shaping scholarly discourse in urban and spatial history.

Professor Rau leads the Erfurt SpaceTime Research group, which develops innovative methodological approaches to spatial and temporal analysis in humanities research. Her GlobMapLab initiative represents a cutting-edge integration of digital humanities with traditional historical methods, enabling new forms of analysis of historical cartographic materials. Through her extensive international collaborations spanning France, India, and Italy, she has established herself as a key figure in global scholarly networks focused on urban history, spatial analysis, and cross-cultural historical studies.