The research department affiliated with the teaching activities at the Institute of History of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.
Teaching and Qualification work
Current scientific Papers
- Claudia Weiß: Alchemy and Pietism: Alchemical Practice at the Halle Orphanage in the 18th Century (Dissertation)
The project focuses on determining the relationship between Pietist religiosity and alchemical practices as well as theoretical adoptions from speculative alchemy at the Halle Orphanage in the 18th century. A core thesis is that the pharmacy and medicine practiced there were more closely linked to medical alchemy in the early modern period than previously assumed.
The dissertation is being written as part of the research project »Alchemy and Pietism«, which started in April 2023 at the Research Centre of the Francke Foundations. The aim of the project is to subject the extensive pharmacy-historical source corpus in the archive and library of the Francke Foundations – in particular the numerous surviving laboratory reports and alchemical manuscripts – for the first time to an in-depth knowledge-historical analysis with regard to alchemical practice and argumentative embedding in Pietism.
Steven Reinhardt: Language, Mediation, and Colonial Encounters: Schawrirajen, Tamil employee of the Danish-English-Halle Mission (dissertation, funded by the Saxony-Anhalt State Graduate Funding Programme)
This dissertation project reconstructs the life and career of Schawrirajen (1755–1817), a Tamil employee of the Danish-English-Halle Mission (1706–1845) in Tranquebar, South India. It traces his trajectory from his family’s conversion, through his education and teaching activities within Christoph Samuel John’s (1747–1813) educational experiments, to his subsequent roles as town catechist and judge within the mission’s judicial structures.
The study focuses on how Schawrirajen’s proficiency in German made him a key and increasingly indispensable figure within the increasingly fragile structures of the mission. His extensive German-language diaries (over 500 manuscript pages) and missionary accounts enable analysis of his role as a multilingual, intercultural and religious intermediary in the colonial contact zone of Tranquebar.
David Loeblich: From the free table to the world? Life paths, networks and practices of the Kingdom of God work of the free table members of the Halle orphanage 1696–1730 (dissertation)
This dissertation project examines the student free table system at the Francke Foundations in the first three decades after the founding of the University of Halle. The work analyses the diverse sources of this institution, from CVs to table lists, with regard to its genesis and early reception. On a prosopographic basis, the life paths of the Freitischler before and after their admission, as well as the mediation practices at the Freitisch, are reconstructed. An investigation of the communitisation at the Freitisch in the sense of the work of the Kingdom of God is also carried out, with the formation of networks that continued to exist in Halle over time. Important contexts here include the significance of the Freitisch for the university, theological training and the filling of pastoral positions in Prussia and other territories.
- Gabriele Bellinzona: The Danish-English-Halle Mission in Tranquebar and its relationship to Catholicism and the other Christian denominations (dissertation)
The dissertation project of Gabriele Bellinzona examines the interconfessional relationship of the Lutheran-Pietist mission in Tranquebar and other stations to established local Christian groups (the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church and Thomas Christians) active in southern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The letters of one of the first Pietist missionaries, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (1682–1719), provide some of the earliest documented evidence of mutual interactions between Protestants and other Christians as do the reports from the Tranquebar Mission published in the »Halle Reports« (Hallesche Berichte) (1710–1772), the first Protestant mission journal, and the »New Halle Reports« (Neue Hallesche Berichte) (1776–1848). The »Halle Reports« contain instructive information about churches of other denominations and traditions. Furthermore, this project will also utilize the letters and internal documents from the Catholic missionaries belonging to the various orders working in India.
The dissertation project is part of the Research Training Group »Interconfessionality in the Early Modern Period« at the University of Hamburg. It is supervised by Prof. Dr. Markus Friedrich (University of Hamburg) as first supervisor and Prof. Dr. Holger Zaunstöck from the Francke Foundations' Research Centre as second supervisor.
- Anna Diagileva: Everyday life, networks, spheres of action. The Halle Pietists in St. Petersburg (1710–1751) (Master's thesis)
Completed scientific Papers
- Emma Piel: Reports from Pietist Pastors in North America: On the Editorial Practice of the Hallesche Nachrichten, 1745/46 (BA Thesis)
- Yannick Ludwig Posner: Heinrich Wilhelm Ludolf (1655–1712): "Will and Testament" (BA Thesis)
- David Loeblich: The Early Free Table System at the Halle Orphanage (1696–1714) (Master's Thesis)
- Michael Rocher: Two "Model Schools" of the 18th Century? A Comparison of the Pädagogium Regium Halle and the Philanthropin in Dessau (Dissertation)
- Andreas Erb: The German Societies of the 18th Century: A Group Portrait (Habilitation Thesis)
- Thomas Grunewald: "The Balance of Europe" – Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode, the Pietist Noble Network, and the Protestant Power Bloc in the North (Dissertation)
- Björn Schmalz: Nobility and Halle Pietism in the 18th Century: A Study of the Faith World of Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff (Dissertation; supervised by Prof. Dr. Thomas Müller-Bahlke)
- Paula Göbel-Lange: Forgotten Years: The Student Profile of the University of Halle under Napoleon, 1808–1813 (Master's Thesis)
- Stefan Ihle: The Forced Recruitment of Student Johann Wilhelm Pfau at Friedrichs University in Halle: A Microhistorical Study (Master's Thesis)
- Katharina Prager: The Organization of Social Welfare around 1800: An Administrative History of the Francke Foundations in Halle (Master's Thesis)
- Claudia Weiß: Alchemy and Halle Pietism: Alchemical Influences on the Pharmacy of the Glauchische Institutions in the 18th Century (Master's Thesis)
- Paula Göbel-Lange: August Hermann Niemeyer (1754-1828) between authorities and institutions (Dissertation, funded by the State Graduate Scholarship Saxony-Anhalt)
August Hermann Niemeyer (1754-1828) between authorities and institutions
The great-grandson of Francke and former director of the Francke Foundations as well as chancellor and principal of the University of Halle is known today above all for his role as enlightener, theologian and pedagogue. In a time of political upheaval, he continuously assumed important functions and was in constant contact with officials of the respective governments of the country under both the Prussian and the temporarily ruling King of Westphalia.
The research project examines for the first time how Niemeyer reacted to political changes from various sources in the Francke Foundations as well as from several state archives. Representing a changing middle-class society, it shows how he had to rethink his position several times and, if necessary, adopt a new attitude in order to stand up for the interests of the institutions he led. In addition, it will be examined whether the political events brought about a change in Niemeyer's mindset, communication and self-image and his educated environment.
Teaching
In collaboration with the Chair of Early Modern History of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, we regularly organize research and graduate colloquia as well as teaching events:
- 2025: How Do You Design a Cultural-Historical Exhibition? An exhibition project on the Royal Pädagogium in the Francke Foundations.
- 2020: The Sick, Doctors, and Theologians – The Birth of a "Gentle Medicine" in Halle Pietism?
- 2019: Pietist Spaces of Experience: Creating a Cabinet Exhibition Using Ego Documents from the 18th Century. Results from the seminar were presented at the concluding conference of the DFG project.
- 2018: The Life World of Students and Orphans in the Age of Pietism and Enlightenment: The Francke Foundations in the 18th Century.
- 2014/15: The Christian Wolff Affair. An epoch-making scandal and its background. The seminar has resulted in a cabinet exhibition accompanied by a publication in the ‘Kleine Schriften’ series, published by the Francke Foundations.
- 2012/13: FranckeImages and Festival Culture. Anniversaries from the Enlightenment to the GDR. The seminar has resulted in a cabinet exhibition accompanied by a publication in the ‘Kleine Schriften’ series, published by the Francke Foundations.
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