Angelika Epple

Prof. Dr. Angelika Epple currently serves as Rector of Bielefeld University since October 1, 2023, following six years as Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Diversity and two years as Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs. She maintains her academic appointment as Professor of 19th and 20th Century History within the Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology, where she previously served over four years as Dean/Vice-Dean.

Dr. Epple earned her PhD in 2001 from Bielefeld University with gender-focused research on historiography, followed by habilitation at the University of Hamburg in 2008. Her academic journey began with Hispanic Studies at the University of Malaga, then expanded to include Romance Studies, History, German Studies, Educational Science, and Philosophy at Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg and Free University Berlin. Prior to joining Bielefeld, she held positions as assistant professor at the University of Hamburg and academic senior councilor at the University of Freiburg.

Her research spans global historical frameworks with emphasis on comparative methodologies, particularly examining racist practices of comparison in the Caribbean (1791-1912) through her leadership of CRC 1288 Subproject F01. She has produced significant scholarship on the colonial history of chocolate through her work on the global chocolate manufacturer 'Gebr. Stollwerck' and currently develops theoretical frameworks in global microhistory. Her methodological approach integrates transnational perspectives with microhistorical analysis to examine historical processes of globalization, racism, and knowledge production.

Dr. Epple maintains extensive leadership responsibilities across multiple institutional levels. She chairs the Commission for University Development and previously chaired the Diversity Steering Committee (2015-2021) and Academic Advisory Board of the Centre for Specialized Languages (2015-2023). Her research leadership includes serving as spokesperson for CRC 1288 'Practices of Comparison' (2017-2021) and as Principal Investigator in the Research Training Group 'World Politics' and Center for Advanced Latin-American Studies (CALAS).

Her international scholarly engagement includes visiting professorships at the University of Guadalajara (2014) and University of Bologna (2017), along with research stays at German Historical Institutes in London and Washington D.C. She represents Bielefeld University in multiple regional and national academic networks, including the circle of Vice-Rectors for Research in NRW and the circle of Vice-Rectors for International Affairs in NRW.