Ulrike Schultz

Ulrike Schultz is Professor of Development Sociology and Economics at the School of Social Sciences, Friedensau Adventist University, where she also serves as Vice Dean and Program Director for the M.A. International Social Sciences (Development Studies). She has a distinguished academic career spanning over three decades, with extensive research experience in Africa, particularly focusing on Sudan and South Sudan.

Her educational background includes:

• 1981-1989: Studies of Economics and Sociology in Dublin, Marburg and Berlin
• 1989: Diploma in Economics
• 1995: Doctorate at the Faculty of Economics of FU Berlin on "Nomad Women in the City: The Survival Economy of Turkan Women in Lodwar/North Kenya"
• 2006: Habilitation in Sociology at FU Berlin

Professor Schultz's research primarily focuses on development sociology, gender studies, and migration studies, with a regional specialization in Africa, particularly Sudan and South Sudan. Her work examines the intersection of ethnicity, gender, and nation-building in post-conflict contexts, with particular attention to return migration programs and translocal livelihoods. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Kenya's Turkana region and throughout Sudan, exploring themes of urbanization, gender relations, and economic strategies in challenging contexts. Her methodological approach often employs grounded theory and qualitative methods, emphasizing the importance of local perspectives in development research.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent engagement with themes of displacement, return migration, and translocal livelihoods in the Sudans. Her work demonstrates a strong commitment to understanding how people navigate complex political transitions and build new forms of belonging in post-conflict settings. She has increasingly focused on the gendered dimensions of these processes, examining how women negotiate economic security and social status in rapidly changing environments. Her more recent work has also addressed the impact of global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, on vulnerable communities in East Africa.

Her notable contributions include:

• ASA-Stipendium der Carl Duisburg Gesellschaft for research on "Promotion of Women Groups in Turkana, Kenya"
• Frauenförderungsprogramm des Senats für Frauen und Arbeit, Berlin

Professor Schultz has supervised numerous doctoral students, demonstrating her commitment to mentoring the next generation of scholars in development studies and related fields. Her research projects have often involved international collaboration, including partnerships with African universities and participation in Volkswagenstiftung-funded summer schools focusing on gender-sensitive research. She has also been actively involved in curriculum development for international development studies programs, reflecting her interest in how development expertise is produced and transmitted.

Her current research focuses on "Ethnizität, Geschlecht und Nation Building im Kontext von Rückkehrprogrammen im Südsudan" (Ethnicity, Gender and Nation Building in the Context of Return Programs in South Sudan), continuing her long-term engagement with post-conflict reconstruction and social transformation in the region.