I am a modern cultural, intellectual, and religious historian. My research centers on the production of knowledge about the ancient world both in and between Europe and the Middle East during the 19th and 20th centuries. In my early work, I concentrated on the scholarly practices as well as the political and theological forces that shaped representations of early Judaism in the German Empire, esp in biblical, classical, and oriental studies. My latest work examines philology as the premier science of the long 19th century, focusing on the media, infrastructure, and instruments involved in collecting, reproducing, and processing textual objects. This research expands traditional work on the history of the humanities by combining an understanding of global and colonial history, media theory, and history of science.
Since 2019, I have been a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation–Flanders (FWO). Before coming to Ghent, I was a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Cambridge and Queens' College (2017–19) and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Göttingen (2016–17). In 2016, I obtained my Dr. phil. in Medieval & Modern History, with highest distinction, from Göttingen, where I was also a Fulbright Scholar. During doctoral studies, I held research fellowships at the University of Chicago, Leibniz Institute of European History (Mainz), and Max Weber Centre for Advanced Studies (Erfurt). This followed an MDiv at Princeton Theological Seminary.
My work appears in premier journals of history, religion, and culture, such as History & Theory, Critical Inquiry, Central European History, and Harvard Theological Review. My first monograph, on the historiography of ancient Israel in the German Empire, was published by Mohr Siebeck in 2018. For a full listing of my publications (together with abstracts!), see my page on Humanities Commons: link via Personal Website in the right sidebar.
In addition to the FWO, I have secured funding from the European Commission (Horizon2020), Fulbright Program, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), American Schools of Oriental Research, and U4 University Network.
