Welcome!
Each year re:work invites 10—15 researchers from different academic disciplines and nationalities and offers them a forum for the discussion of central questions and thereby promotes exchange between established and young academics. re:work organises workshops, international conferences and summer schools and fellows are given the opportunity to discuss their research with various institutions in Berlin.
re:visiting Fellows 2019 - 2021
On our own account
After twelve years and 149 incredibly great people that we could welcome as our fellows, re:work's fellowship program has ended in July 2021. The work continues but the framework is new.
If you are looking for a home for your academic work (for instance within the scope of a scholarship) though, please contact us.
From now on we are not able to accept applications for a fellowship anymore.
In the future, the re:work website will provide information about publications and activities of the former fellows, and researchers associated with the centre.
Announcement due to the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
Due to the serious developments in regards to the Corona virus and in an attempt to slow down the spread of the disease, the Senate of Berlin has decided to cancel all academic conferences, workshops and public lectures for at least the winter semester 20/21. Unfortunately, our scheduled events at re:work are all affected and will have to be postponed.
Please check for news and updates on the Humboldt University website.
Die Welt - ranking best nonfiction: Jürgen Kocka - Kampf um die Moderne
Recently, "Kampf um die Moderne. The Long 19th Century in Germany" Jürgen Kocka's new book, was published by Klett-Cotta-Verlag. It is dedicated to the "birth of classical modernity" in the long 19th century between industrialization, capitalism, nationalism, class conflicts and deep gender inequality.
The daily newspaper Die Welt has now ranked the book number 1 among the most important non-fiction books in February.
Seth Holmes on Deutschlandfunk
Seth Holmes' Book „Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies“ was recently published in a German translation by Jennifer Sophia Theodor by Transcript Verlag. Within its program "Andruck" - a magazine for political literature - the German radio station Deutschlandfunk dedicated an elaborated portrait to him and his writing.
You can listen to it and read it here.
(In German)
Nationalism and Democracy in the Welfare State
Recently, the book "Nationalism and Democracy in the Welfare State. Globalization and Welfare series" by Miika Tervonen, Saara Pellander and Pauli Kettunen is published by Edgar Elgar. This multidisciplinary book unpacks and outlines the contested roles of nationalism and democracy in the formation and transformation of welfare-state institutions and ideologies. Pauli Kettunen was the Guest of the Director during the 2018/19 Fellow year, and large parts of his work were produced during his time at re:work.
Andreas Eckert at SCAS Talks Podcast
The Swedish Collegium is pleased to present the most recent episode of the SCAS Talks Podcast, "Where have the workers gone? Labour in postcolonial Africa", featuring Prof. Dr. Andreas Eckert.
Geschichte der Sklaverei
by Andreas Eckert
Even today approximately 40 million people live in «modern slavery». In his profund volume Andreas Eckert traces the dark history of an institution, that can be frequently be observed in different pecularities since the ancient world and in all parts of the world. At the same time he observes questions about the motifs of slavetraders and -holders, scopes for the enslaved and causes for the gradual transformation of slavery as an accepted evil to an outlawed abomination.
Reviews (Selection / German):
"Eckerts Einführungstext ist hervorragend strukturiert und mit einer klaren Sprache leicht zugänglich für ein breites Lesepublikum.“
"Eckerts Buch bietet eine komprimierte Darstellung auf knappem Raum und öffnet die Augen für erzwungene Abhängigkeitsverhältnisse bis in unsere Gegenwart.“
Mademba Sèye. Fama de Sansanding
by Richard Roberts
Roberts Book deals with Mademba Sèye - Mademba Sy, who with the aid of his French patrons, worked his way from a telegraphist up to the rank of an African king of the Sansanding states (in Bambara fama) on the shores of river Niger. In 1899, Fama Mademba, born in Saint-Louis, Senegal, was placed under house arrest in Kayes on charges of abuse of power, ritual murder, rape and extortion. Despite the seriousness of the accusation, he was exonerated and returned to his 'throne'. The Mademba case already reveals the negation of the principles of the rule of law in the face of the interests of the colonialism under construction.
Corona and Work Around the Globe (De Gruyter)
Edited by Andreas Eckert and Felicitas Hentschke
This book provides a global perspective on the transformations in the world of work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection of essays by former fellows of the research center from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe will break down the general statistics and trends into glimpses of concrete experiences of workers during pandemic, of workplaces transformed or destroyed, of workers protesting against political measures, of professions particularly exposed to the coronavirus, and also of the changing nature of some professions.
The Berlin Center for Global Engagement (BCGE), an initiative of the Berlin University Alliance, funded a substantial part of the production costs. Without the support of BCGE, this project would not have succeeded!
The book presentation with the following panel took place on March 25th, 2021 via Zoom:
- Andreas Eckert, Humboldt University Berlin
- Felicitas Hentschke, Humboldt University Berlin
- Bridget Kenny, Roskilde University and re:work
- Preben Kaarsholm, University of the Witwatersrand
Please find the recording here.
New Publications
Zimmermann, Susan, Women's Politics and Men's Trade Unionism, Löcker, 2021
Kott, Sandrine. Organiser le monde. Une autre histoire de la guerre froide. SEUIL, 2021.
Gibert, Marie-Pierre and Anne Monjaret. Anthropologie du travail. Paris: Armand Colin, 2021
Lüdtke, Helga. Der Bubikopf. Männlicher Blick - weiblicher Eigen-Sinn. Wallstein Verlag, 2021.
Lentz, Carola, and David Lowe. Remembering Independence. New York, NY: Routledge, 2018.
Sarkar, Mahua, ed. 2018. Work out of Place. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Eckert, Andreas, ed. Global Histories of Work. Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2016.
Please find a selection of publications by our fellows here.
Journal of Modern European History (JMEH)
(Re-)Constituting the State and Law during the ‘Long Transformation of 1989’ in East Central Europe, Vol. 18│2020/3
International Social History Association (ISHA)
Congratulations
Former re:work fellow Benedetta Rossi (University College London) holds an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council on African Abolitionism: The Rise and Transformations of Anti-Slavery (AFRAB) between October 2020 and September 2025. Congratulations!
Former re:work fellow Dmitri van den Bersselaar (University of Leipzig) and former Guest of the Director Michel R. Doortmont (University of Groningen) have been awarded the 2019 ASA Service Award by the American African Studies Association (ASA). They receive the award together with their colleagues Jan Jansen (Leiden University) and John Hanson (Indiana University) for their "outstanding dedication to the ASA’s mission of encouraging the production and dissemination of knowledge about Africa, past and present.”