معرفی
Margrit Pernau serves as Senior Researcher at the Center for the History of Emotions at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, while holding an extraordinary Professorship at Freie Universität Berlin since 2012. Her academic journey began with a Dr. phil. in Modern History from the University of Heidelberg in 1991, followed by a Habilitation from the University of Bielefeld in 2007.
Her scholarly work spans multiple disciplines with a focus on the history of emotions, particularly as manifested in South Asian contexts. Pernau has pioneered research on emotional communities in colonial and post-colonial India, developing innovative methodologies that bridge conceptual history with transnational perspectives. Her work examines how emotions function as historical forces that shape social structures, political movements, and cultural transformations.
Pernau's publication record demonstrates remarkable consistency and evolution over three decades, with her most recent works exploring decolonial approaches to conceptual history and the multiplicity of temporalities in non-Western contexts. Her scholarship reveals a consistent trajectory from studying specific historical cases in Indian history toward developing broader theoretical frameworks for understanding emotions across cultural contexts.
As editor of special sections and issues, Pernau has significantly shaped scholarly discourse in her field, particularly through her work on 'Concepts from the Global South' which challenges Eurocentric historical frameworks. Her publications reveal deep engagement with both primary historical sources and cutting-edge theoretical developments in conceptual history.
Through her leadership of major research projects including 'Emotions and Temporalities - Feeling for the Future (South Asia 1912-1970)' and 'The Emotions of New Education. A Transnational History of Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi,' Pernau has established significant collaborative networks across international academic communities. Her work with the 'History of Emotions - Insights into Research' internet portal has created valuable resources for scholars worldwide.
The Center for the History of Emotions, where Pernau conducts her research, functions as a vibrant intellectual hub that brings together historians, anthropologists, and scholars from multiple disciplines to develop innovative approaches to studying emotions historically. Under her intellectual leadership, the center has become a global reference point for historical emotion studies.
