Fabian Lemmes

Prof. Dr. Fabian Lemmes is Professor of Cultural and Media History at Saarland University's Faculty of Philosophy since March 2023. He previously served as Acting Professor at the same institution during the 2022/23 academic year. His academic journey includes positions as Junior Professor for European History at Ruhr University Bochum (2010-2021) and various research fellowships at prestigious institutions including the German Historical Institute in Paris, the Collegium Lyon, and the Centre Marc Bloch Berlin.

• Doctorate from the European University Institute in Florence (2009)
• Studies in History, French Cultural Studies, and Social Psychology at Saarland University
• Additional academic training at Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris

Lemmes specializes in the comparative and transnational history of Europe and the Mediterranean from the 19th to 21st centuries. His research particularly focuses on labor history, industrial culture and deindustrialization, migration and border regions, National Socialism, war and occupation, media and terrorism, social movements, and anarchism. His methodological approach combines comparative, transfer, and interconnected history perspectives to contextualize historical developments at transnational and European levels.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on deindustrialization processes in comparative European perspective, the history of anarchist movements as global phenomena, and the analysis of evacuation policies during World War II in border regions. His work often examines the emotional and experiential dimensions of historical transformations, particularly how these shape social bonds and political practices.

• Fellow at the German Historical Institute in Paris
• Fellow at the Collegium Lyon (Institute for Advanced Studies)
• Fellow at the Center Marc Bloch, Berlin
• Travel Fellow of the DFG Research Training Group 'Slavery, Servitude and Forced Labor'
• German Academic Scholarship Foundation recipient

Professor Lemmes currently supervises doctoral candidates including Raphaël Pernoud (working on the political impacts of deindustrialization) and Joana Baumgärtel (researching housing policy and construction in the Saar mining region). He leads the DFG-ANR project DesinEE on deindustrialization in France and Germany and collaborates on international research initiatives examining popular culture in the 1960s and historical representations on social media platforms.

His research group actively engages with contemporary issues through projects examining working and living environments, media and public spheres, migration and border areas, and cultures of remembrance. The team regularly collaborates with institutions across Europe, maintaining strong transnational research networks.