Veruschka Wagner

Dr. Veruschka Wagner is an Investigator at the Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies (IOA) at the University of Bonn, specializing in Ottoman slavery and mobility studies. She holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Bonn (2010–2015) and dual qualifications in Communications Studies, Phonetics, and Translation Studies. Since 2023, she holds the Argelander Mobility Grant and continues her German Research Foundation (DFG)-funded project on Ottoman slavery dynamics.

Her research focuses on agency and mobility of enslaved individuals in early modern Istanbul, particularly female slaves from the Black Sea region. Key themes include legal status, community integration, and socio-economic roles of slaves. She has authored works on Ottoman travel narratives, manumission practices, and pious endowments' role in slavery.

Wagner is a core member of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), organizing working groups on Ottoman Slavery, Manumission, and Caricature Studies. She also contributes to the Bonn Center for Transcultural Narratology and the Bonner Forum Osmanistik.

Her publications span 2016–2023, with 2023 marking a prolific year of contributions to Transottoman biographies and narrative strategies. She has held academic positions including Lecturer at the Turkish-German University (2016–2018) and Research Assistant at the University of Bonn (2008–2016).