Tobias Delfs

PD Dr. Tobias Delfs is a Visiting Professor at the Chair for Cultures and Societies of South Asia at Humboldt University during the 2024/25 winter semester. Previously, he was a Research Associate (2018-2024) in the DFG-funded Modern India in German Archives (MIDA) project and a Researcher (2015-2018) in the DFG project on Nathaniel Wallich's botanical network. He holds a habilitation (2023/24) on German botanists' role in 19th-century South Asian imperialism.

• Education: Studied Medieval/Modern History, Political Science, and Sociology at Kiel University; PhD (2017) on Deviance in the Halle Mission at the University of Zurich
• Research Stays: Serampore College (India), Archive of the Francke Foundations (Halle), and funded by Fritz Thyssen Fellowship

Fields of Interest include imperial/global history, modern South Asian history, history of knowledge, environmental history, and colonial natural science. His 2022-2024 publications focus on German botanical imperialism, missionary knowledge transfer, and colonial alcohol debates.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Fritz Thyssen Fellowship

Collaborative Projects include co-editing Benjamin Schultze's Dialogue Book on Madras and South Asia Chronicle 12. He contributes to postcolonial historiography, missionary deviance studies, and imperial scientific networks.