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His research interests focus on questions of identity building. In his book Heinrich Graetz – Jewish Identity and Historiography (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Publishers, 2008), he addressed the construction of Jewish identity by means of historiography in 19th century Germany. He has received research fellowships from the German National Academic Foundation, the Institute for European History (Mainz/Germany), and Harvard University, among others. Current research focuses on the use of morality and of religious values for identity politics, both with regard to modern Bourgeoisie and the modern understanding of “Europe”. His teaching experience includes world history and world religions, with a focus on Judaism from the Biblical Times onwards, the Islamic world, India, and the West.

2019-2020 Courses:

HIS 104	Global History I: Traditions, Encounters, and Adaptation from the Stone Age to the 16th Century	FALL 2019
This course is an introduction to themes and trends in the political, economic, cultural, and social, history of pre-modern societies in global perspective. It covers the development of civilizations in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas from the Neolithic Revolution to the "Columbian Exchange" with emphasis on the emergence and diffusion of religious and political institutions, the role of the environmental context, as well as the impact of encounters between human societies. Students are introduced to the historiography of empire and global history/globalization, and attention is devoted to the reading and analysis of different categories of primary sources.
HIS 202T	History of Switzerland	FALL 2019
Switzerland can be seen as a striking exception to the idea of a modern Western nation state: one of the oldest republics, with four official languages, neutral by tradition with at the same time a strong military tradition, a direct democracy and nevertheless one of the most stable states in the world. Hence, it has convincingly been called a "country of minorities" or just "an exception". This course analyzes the political, economic, social, and cultural development of Switzerland as a coherent and significant part of the history of medieval and modern Europe, with visits to places such as Bern, Basel, Schwyz, St. Gallen, and Zurich. Key themes covered include the founding of the Swiss Confederation in the thirteenth century, the initiation of the Swiss Reformation by Ulrich Zwingli in the sixteenth century, the introduction of the federal government in the nineteenth century, and the present day polemics of immigration and direct democracy. Local day trips to the medieval Ticinese towns of Riva San Vitale and Mendrisio round out the course.
HIS 360W	The Revolutionary Idea in Theory and Practice: Russia 1917 in Context	FALL 2019
The 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 2017 occurred in a time characterized by a deep-seated dissatisfaction with established orders all around the globe, even in stable, prosperous, and democratic societies. The rhetoric and idea of a need to revolutionize politics can now be found, not only at the fringes, but at the center of societies. This course explores the history of the concept of political revolution from its onset in late 18th century France and its reception in the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville and Karl Marx. It will then focus on attempts to turn theory and historical experiences into practice in 20th century Russia: The failed revolution in 1905, the two revolutions in February and October 1917, the question of when the revolution ended, and eventually the “anti-revolution” (Richard Sakwa) of 1989-91. Against this backdrop and by analyzing a wide array of primary sources and theoretical statements, this course discusses the changing paradigms in the study of revolution in the fields of History, Cultural Studies, and Political Science. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)
HIS 460	The Revolutionary Idea in Theory and Practice: Russia 1917 in Context	FALL 2019
Students in their Senior year who wish to graduate with a Major in History (stand alone or combined) need to take this capstone version of HIS 360 (see course description). Students in HIS 460 attend all meetings of HIS 360 and are responsible for additional and more in-depth work including an oral presentation and seminars with the instructor. This additional work is geared towards preparing the student for the successful completion of their Senior Thesis. Students who have already earned credit for SEM 372 Revolution and Russia may not enroll and earn credit for HIS 460.
HON 499	Honors Senior Capstone Experience Preparation Workshop	FALL 2019
The advanced non-credit bearing Senior Capstone Preparation Workshop is open only to Honors students and is required in the student's senior year.
HIS 105	Global History II: Globalization, the Emergence of the Modern State, and Coping with Change	SPRING 2020
This course is an introduction to themes and trends in the political, economic, cultural, and social history of modern societies in global perspective. It covers the development of societies in Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas from the "Columbian Exchange" to the twenty-first century with emphasis on the development of institutions within their changing cultural, political, and environmental context, as well as the impact of encounters between human societies. Students are introduced to the historiography of globalization and of the modern state. Further attention is devoted to the analysis of different categories of primary sources. (It is recommended that HIS 104 be taken prior to HIS 105).
HIS 245W	Worlds of Judaism	SPRING 2020
This course is an introduction to the multifaceted civilization of Judaism as both a religion and as a historical phenomenon. After a survey of the background and preconditions of the emergence of the Hebrew bible and of monotheistic culture within the context of the Middle East in antiquity, the course focuses on the cultural mechanisms such as religious law and memory that kept the various Jewish worlds somewhat linked, despite the Diaspora from the time of the Babylonian Captivity, and even more so following the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Attention is given to religious, cultural, and social developments that made Judaism survive from antiquity through the middle ages to the present, and also to the different reactions to its respective environments, in areas as diverse as Babylonia in the age of the Talmud, the "Golden Age" of Islamic Spain, or Germany in the Modern era. The course concludes with the rise of a Jewish center in Palestine in the twentieth century, and the ensuing tensions between this center and the persisting diasporas.(This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)
HIS 345W	Propaganda: A Modern History	SPRING 2020
Propaganda, a persuasive form of communication, acts to bind modern societies together. Its history is closely connected to changes in media and media consumption. This course analyzes in depth a wide range of primary sources in different formats. Following an introduction to important approaches in the theory, practice, and ethics of propaganda, as well as its early history, special attention is devoted to the century of propaganda, from the First World War and its impact, through the 'age of extremes' (Eric Hobsbawm), and the new possibilities of a digital age.
HIS 296	Quarantine: Pandemics and the History of the Fight Against Them	SUMMER 2020
Since the Black Death in the fourteenth century, quarantines and limitations on social contact have played an important role in mitigating and ending the spread of contagious diseases. City states such as Venice and Milan and the Swiss cantons played pioneering roles in controlling epidemics. This course examines changing views of pandemics and public health policies throughout global history through the lens of the successes and failures of measures and policies designed to fight pandemics from antiquity to the current COVID-19 crisis.

Publications:

Books:
Heinrich Graetz: Jewish Identify and Historiography, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008.

Reviewed in:
Dieter Langewiesche, in: sehepunkte 9 (2009), Nr. 4 (15.04.2009), http://www.sehepunkte.de/2009/04/12484.html
Kristiane Gerhardt, in: H-Soz-u-Kult, 22.07.2009, http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/rezensionen/2009-3-063
Ulrich Sieg, in: Historische Zeitschrift 290 (2010), Nr. 1.

Articles in Journals:
“Historiography and Identity. On the Importance and Potential of a Contested Approach“, in Historische Zeitschrift 280 (2005), Nr. 2, 381-392.

Chapters in Books:
„Von Reformen ganz enormen traeumen wir am Bosporus.“ Das Osmanische Reich als Vorbild wider Willen in Leo Fall’s Erfolgsoperette Die Rose von Stambul (1916),“ in: Yavuz Köse (ed.): ªehrâyin. Die Welt der Osmanen, die Osmanen in der Welt. Wahrnehmungen, Begegnungen und Abgrenzungen. Festschrift Hans Georg Majer, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2012, S. 441-461. http://www.operetta-research-center.org/main.php?task=5&cat=4&sub_cat=13&id=00357

„Jewish Studies,“ in: Christian Klein (ed.), Handbuch Biographie. Methoden, Traditionen, Theorien (Encyclopedia of Biography. Methods, Traditions, Theories). Stuttgart, Weimar: Metzler, 2010, pp. 414-418.

"Jews in Munich from Mid-19th Century to 1887/92", in: Jüdisches München. Vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart, ed. by Michael Brenner and Richard Breuer, München: C.H. Beck 2006, 89-109.

"Religion and the Popularization of 'Eternal Truths'. The Example of Christian and Islamic Haeresiographies“, in: Wissenspopularisierung. Konzepte der Wissensverbreitung im Wandel, ed. by Carsten Kretschmann, Berlin 2003, 47-77.

“The Jewish World in the 12th Century and the Travelogue (“Sefär Massa‘ot”) of Benjamin of Tudela“, in: Kultur – ein Netz von Bedeutungen, ed. by Florian Steger, Würzburg 2002, 55-76.

Works in Progress:
“‘Pfeif’ ich auf die Weltmisere’. The Politics of Operetta in the First Half of the 20th Century between Escapism and Propaganda”.
“What is a Jew? Biography Writing, Categorization, and Identity Politics in Modern Jewish History and Beyond”.
“Grand Tourism? Traditions, Opportunities, and Challenges of Educational Travel” (joint project).

Awards and Honors:

Association of Friends of the Ludwigs Maximilians Univeristät München (LMU), Award for the Best Ph.D. thesis in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the LMU in 2005.
-Harvard University, Center for Jewish Studies, Harry Starr Postdoctoral Fellowship in Judaica, 2005/6.
-Institute for European History Mainz, Fellow, 2004.
-Stiftung Dialogik Zurich/Toronto, Mary and Hermann Lewin Goldschmidt-Bollag Fellowship, 2003.
-Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Doctoral Fellowship, 2000/3.

Areas of Research:

Identities and identity politics in the 19th and 20th century, the history and politics of popular culture, History of the Eurovision Song Contest, history and methodology of historiography.