Ariane Fichtl

Dr. Ariane Fichtl serves as an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of History, University of St Andrews, conducting postdoctoral research on British abolitionism and early modern democracy. Her work bridges intellectual history with cultural studies, focusing on the interplay between political thought, religion, and emotions. She actively collaborates with Helsinki University and the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, while serving on the editorial board of History of European Ideas and participating in the British and Irish Association for Political Thought.

Education:

• PhD in History, Université de Lille (France), 2020

Dr. Fichtl's research centers on the intellectual roots of abolitionist strategies and republican discourse, examining how concepts like mutual dependence evolved from ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Kabbalistic traditions into modern political frameworks. Her methodology uniquely integrates historiographical approaches from Thomas Haskell with emotional and religious history to analyze shifts in consumer morality and moral responsibility within slave economies. Current projects investigate eighteenth-century democracy transformations and the replacement of freedom-slavery binaries with dependency-focused analyses.

Her publication trends reveal deep engagement with Atlantic-world political thought, connecting imperial history, neutrality debates, and celebrity culture through interdisciplinary lenses. Articles consistently explore transnational idea circulation, particularly how classical republican models radicalized during revolutionary periods and influenced early American foreign policy frameworks.

Scientific Awards:

• Max Weber Fellowship at the German Historical Institute
• Visiting Fellowship at the European University Institute (Florence)
• Junior Fellowship at the Turin Humanities Programme (Turin)

Dr. Fichtl directs international research collaborations strengthening St Andrews' partnership with Bonn University's Dependency and Slavery Studies center, utilizing their asymmetrical dependency analytical framework. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) through historical analyses of political exclusion and moral responsibility frameworks. Current grant activities focus on transnational projects examining eighteenth-century democracy conceptions and abolitionist cognitive techniques.

She leads collaborative research networks connecting St Andrews with Helsinki University (early modern democracy project) and Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, developing methodologies that replace freedom-slavery binaries with dependency-focused political analysis while examining religious dissenters' roles in antislavery activism.