معرفی
Dr. Sabine Hanke is a researcher in the Department of History at the University of Tübingen, specializing in Modern History with a focus on the 19th century. She is affiliated with the Seminar für Neuere Geschichte (Seminar for Modern History) where she teaches courses on colonial history, visual culture, and the history of the Pacific Islands. Her academic appointments include postdoctoral research at the University of Duisburg-Essen (2021-2023) where she investigated transregional entanglements while teaching Modern History courses.
Dr. Hanke's educational background includes:
- PhD in History, University of Sheffield (2016-2021)
- Master of Arts in Geschichte, Technische Universität Dresden (2013-2016)
- Bachelor of Arts in Geschichte, Politikwissenschaft und Soziologie, Technische Universität Dresden (2009-2013)
- Study abroad at Universitatea de Lucian Blaga, Romania (2011-2012)
- Internships at the German Historical Institute Washington, D.C. and Leo Baeck Institute, New York City (2015)
Dr. Hanke's research bridges colonial history, human-animal relations, and popular culture, examining how cultural practices reflected and shaped knowledge about nationhood, empire, and identity during the 19th and 20th centuries. Her work explores circuses as sites of cultural exchange and imperial imagination, analyzing how performances of 'exotic' peoples and animals contributed to colonial discourse. Her current project investigates birds of paradise in colonial New Guinea, examining how scientific knowledge, aesthetic practices, and economic interests intertwined to shape global debates on conservation, commodification, and colonial power.
Her publications reveal a consistent focus on cultural dimensions of imperialism with particular expertise in German and British contexts. Dr. Hanke's work innovatively combines colonial history, animal studies, and cultural history, making significant contributions to understanding how human-animal relationships functioned within colonial settings and how popular culture served as both reflection and instrument of imperial power.
Dr. Hanke has received recognition including:
- 3-year full-time scholarship for PhD, Arts and Humanities Faculty, University of Sheffield (2016/17-2019/20)
Dr. Hanke actively collaborates with public history initiatives and museums to critically engage with postcolonial histories. She recently co-organized the international workshop 'Of Species and Specimens: Tracing Nonhuman Histories in Times of Imperial Expansion' at the University of Tübingen (July 2024) and previously organized the 'Circus and Beyond' conference at the University of Sheffield (May 2018). Her current monograph 'Worlds of the Ring: Nation and Empire in the British and German Circus' is forthcoming with Manchester University Press (January 2025).
Dr. Hanke teaches proseminars including 'Der koloniale Blick: eine visuelle Geschichte im kolonialen Kontext' (The Colonial Gaze: A Visual History in Colonial Context), 'Eine Wissenschaft im Dienste des Kolonialismus? Die Erforschung der Inselwelten des Südpazifiks im 19. Jahrhundert' (A Science in Service of Colonialism? The Exploration of Pacific Island Worlds in the 19th Century), and 'Vom Aussterben bedroht: Naturschutz und Öffentlichkeit, 1870er bis 1930er Jahre' (Threatened with Extinction: Conservation and the Public, 1870s-1930s), demonstrating her commitment to integrating historical research with contemporary environmental and postcolonial concerns.
