Sanne Ravensbergen

Sanne Ravensbergen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on cultural history of law in Indonesia, particularly examining intersections between law, empire, materiality, Dutch colonialism, and the Indian Ocean world. She holds a PhD from Leiden University (2018).

Her recent work includes studies on legal translation practices in colonial Indonesia, co-editing a textbook on Dutch colonial historiography, and exploring cloth's role in colonial judicial systems. She co-authored a volume on Islamic legal traditions across the Indian Ocean, emphasizing peripheral regions' contributions to Islamic legal thought.

Ravensbergen teaches courses like 'Doing History' and 'International and Regional Studies Research Design Seminar II.' Her research highlights understudied archives and material objects to illuminate legal processes in colonial contexts. Current projects continue interrogating legal spaces and cultural exchanges in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.