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Tagged: history

A person wearing blue gloves is holding a poster with Arabic text and an image of wheat.

Food is Where all my Interests Meet – 5in10 with Omri Polatsek

Omri Polatsek is a historian of science, technology, and the environment, with a regional focus on Egypt and the Middle East. He is a doctoral student at the International Max Planck Research School “Knowledge and Its Resources: Historical Reciprocities” at the Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte and a researcher at the “History of Technology” Department at the Technische Universität Berlin. Before joining EUME, Omri was an affiliated researcher at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient. He holds an MA in Global History from Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and a BA in Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science from Tel Aviv University.

Cover of the book "Unter deutscher Besatzung".

Occupation was a Poison Effective within European Societies – An Interview with Tatjana Tönsmeyer on Everyday Life under German Occupation in WWII

Tatjana Tönsmeyer is a Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Wuppertal. She is one of the most prominent scholars on the history of the Second World War and of occupation in Europe during that period. She also works on the history of memory and the post-history of National Socialism, as well as on questions concerning statehood, supply, and security. She is particularly committed to developing an integrated history of Western and Eastern Europe in their transatlantic relations.

New Avenues in Global History

By Sebastian Conrad. In this moment of rapid political and cultural change, a reassessment of what global history stands for, what it can contribute and where its limits lie is a timely exercise. Global history as a subfield has had a fast and successful career. Virtually unknown at the turn of the century, it has by now acquired an almost ubiquitous presence in the discipline. This first phase, the era of the field’s establishment was followed by a series of critical assessments. In the wake of the financial crisis, and then the worldwide populist turn of the 2010s, the globalizing trends of the previous decades gave way to anti-globalizing movements and talk of a “backlash” and a “decoupling” of the world. What’s next?

War, Migration, Memory: Perspectives on Russia’s War Against Ukraine – An Introduction

How does war reshape collective memory, migration, and identity? Read a preview of Viktoriya Sereda and Andrii Portnov’s introduction to the recently published anthology “War, Migration, Memory: Perspectives on Russia’s War Against Ukraine” exploring the ongoing impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. It delves into questions of belonging, historical memory, and societal transformation through essays written by Ukrainian scholars amid war and displacement.

Why the Past Matters: Personal Reflections on the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life

By Zahiye Kundos. This reflective piece explores the complex, intergenerational sense of loss and identity crisis within Arab communities, focusing on the author’s personal journey of reconnecting with heritage, language, and selfhood amid a history marked by exile, fragmentation, and political marginalization. The author describes a profound attachment to belonging (intimāʾ), which shapes her writing and drives her to understand and heal the collective “bruise” in the Arab heart—a metaphor for enduring pain and resilience in the face of historical displacement. Zahiye Kundos navigates familial and cultural ties across generations, examining both male and female influences in her family and the broader Arab intellectual landscape.

An Impossible Friendship – Conversation with Sonja Mejcher-Atassi

Sonja Mejcher-Atassi is a professor of Arabic and comparative literature at the American University of Beirut. She is the author of “An Impossible Friendship: Group Portrait, Jerusalem Before and After 1948” (Columbia University Press 2024). In it, she retraces the story of five friends, or a “small ecumenical circle”, who came together in Jerusalem before 1948 and parted ways after a historical caesura. A Conversation with Jacqueline Wagner.

Decolonizing Family Metaphors in the Context of the Russian-Ukrainian War and Beyond

By Illia Ilin. The recent history of Ukraine can be metaphorically described as a journey to break away from the abusive “triune Russian people” family and reconnect with the democratic “European peoples” family. This long process of decolonization has been ongoing for over 30 years and signifies the reclamation of Ukrainian territories, history, and identity by the Ukrainian people. This article will explore the family metaphors of (de)colonization of Russia and unified Europe in relation to Ukraine, and the potential for their expansion and decolonization.

Navigating Bureaucratic Hurdles: Tuberculosis and Healthcare Access in Republican Istanbul

By Zehra Betül Atasoy. Tuberculosis, often referred to as consumption or phthisis, was one of the most dreaded diseases of the 19th and 20th centuries on a global scale. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the period on which this piece focuses, tuberculosis claimed a significant number of lives each year in Turkey. The absence of a structured and centralized TB treatment and prevention system left countless individuals grappling with the disease alone. However, one of the reasons for the lack of access to treatment was the cumbersome bureaucratic processes, exacerbating social class disparities.

Arab Engagement at the World Festival of Youth and Students in the USSR in 1957 – A Conversation with Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop is Associate Professor of History at Texas State University-San Marcos. Her research interests include the modern Arab world, media, and material history. In this conversation, Dianna Abbani discusses the article “Arabs at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students: UGEMA in the USSR, 1957” with her.