Helen A. Gibson

Helen A. Gibson is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the John F. Kennedy Institute, Department of History, Freie Universität Berlin. She is actively engaged in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of history, spirituality, and material culture, with a focus on African American and Indigenous epistemologies. Gibson also serves as the editor for history, political science, and international relations at the European Journal of American Studies.

Research Interests: Her work explores the significance of mattering beyond empiricism, particularly through practices of sacred reciprocity. She investigates how plants like dogwood function as both medicine and spiritual boundary markers within the tradition of grand midwifery, drawing on WPA interviews with formerly enslaved people. Her scholarship bridges historical analysis with decolonial theory, emphasizing relationality, kinship, and the transmission of ancestral knowledge.

Publication Trends: Her recent work centers on the entanglement of material objects and spiritual meaning in African American cultural memory. By analyzing oral histories and plant-based practices, she contributes to emerging fields in critical race theory, medical humanities, and the history of science, emphasizing non-dualistic ontologies and Indigenous ways of knowing.

• Scientific Awards: No awards listed in the provided text.

Advising and Grants: While no formal advisees or grant funding are mentioned in the text, her role as a visiting professor and journal editor suggests active participation in academic mentorship and scholarly networks. Her prior research fellowship at the University of Erfurt indicates competitive postdoctoral support.

Labs and Research Teams: Helen Gibson is affiliated with the research colloquium and PhD projects at the Department of History, Freie Universität Berlin. She contributes to the 'CIH VII: Uncertain Boundaries' program, which explores ambiguity in international history, suggesting collaboration within an interdisciplinary research group focused on liminality and boundary-making in historical contexts.