Rosel Pientka-Hinz

PD Dr. Rosel Pientka-Hinz serves as an Associate Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. She holds a PhD from Philipps University Marburg and completed her Habilitation on scorpion symbolism in Ancient Near Eastern literature. Her academic career includes roles as Assistant Professor (1998-2004), University Lecturer (2004-2010), and Visiting Professor at the University of Vienna (2007-2008). She is currently Adjunct Professor at CERES since 2015 and Principal Investigator of the CRC 1475 'Metaphors of Religion' project. Her research focuses on cultural and religious history of the Ancient Near East, particularly animal symbolism, color symbolism, architectural history, and textual traditions.

Her educational background includes studies in Assyriology, Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, and Semitic Languages at Universities of Münster and Marburg. She has led projects like 'Under a Serpent's Spell' exploring snake cults and inter-religious contacts. Her research outputs span edited volumes, conference presentations, and articles on topics like aquatic symbolism, light/color symbolism, and cross-cultural exchanges between Mesopotamia and Western Iran.

Key affiliations include the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Fellowship, CERES Research Department, and the Study Advisory Board. Her work integrates interdisciplinary methodologies, analyzing textual, archaeological, and religious sources to reconstruct ancient social and cultural practices. She collaborates internationally, notably with Shiraz University in Iran, and actively engages in public outreach through lectures and exhibitions.

Her academic advising and grants involve directing Subproject C02 within the CRC 1475 framework. She maintains the Center for Religious Studies' research infrastructure and contributes to academic networks like the Reallexikon der Assyriologie. Her office is located in Room 3.14 at Universitätsstr. 90a, Bochum (+49 234 32-21969).