News

Motaz Alnaouq (legal studies/URPP Asia and Europe), submitted his doctoral thesis “The Right to Life in the Palestinian Society: The Case of Death Penalty from Comparative Human Rights Perspective” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his dissertation review in September 2017.

Monika Amsler (religious studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received an eighteen-month Marie Heim-Vögtlin grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation for her PhD project “Purpose and Nature of the Talmudic Medical Units in Tractates Shabbat, Pessachin, Gittin and Avodah Zarah” (April 2017 to August 2018).

Wolfgang Behr (Chinese studies/URPP Asia and Europe) and Polina Lukicheva (Chinese studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received three years of funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation for their research project “Der Himmel hat von sich aus keine Ordnung des Vorne und des Hinten”: Begriffsgeschichtliche Studien zur Herausbildung der Kategorie des Räumlichen in chinesischen Texten des 17. Jahrhunderts” (April 2016 to March 2019).

Wolfgang Behr (Chinese studies/URPP Asia and Europe) and Lisa Indraccolo (Chinese studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received three years of funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation for their reseach project “A Tangled Web of Sayings: Structural and Phonological Patterning in the Hanfeizi” (October 2016 to September 2019).

Yasmine Berriane (political sociology and Middle Eastern studies/URPP Asia and Europe) accepted a position as assistant professor at the Faculté de Gouvernance et de Sciences Éonomiques et Sociales at the University Mohammed VI in Rabat, starting in October 2017.

Sofia Bollo (East Asian art history/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted her doctoral thesis “Reframing Ancient China: A Multi-perspective Study on Neolithic Pottery Displays in Modern Chinese Museums” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed her dissertation review in September 2017.

Ulrich Brandenburg (Islamic and Middle Eastern studies/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted his doctoral thesis “Japan und der Islam, 1890–1914: Zwischen globaler Kommunikation und panasiatischer Bewegung” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his dissertation review in March 2017.

Tobias Delfs (history/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted his doctoral thesis “Devianz in der Dänisch-Englisch-Halleschen Indienmission des späten 18. Jahrhunderts” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his dissertation review in April 2017.

Jeanne Fichtner-Egloff (East Asian art history/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted her doctoral thesis “Kindai bijutsu – Zur Rezeption westlicher Kunstkonzepte in Japan um 1900. Mit Fokus auf die Meiji-zeitliche Sammlung des Historischen und Völkerkundemuseums St. Gallen” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed her dissertation review in July 2017.

Elisa Ganser (Indian studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received a one year grant from the Zürcher Universitätsverein (ZUNIV) for her reseach project “Performing Arts and Religious Practices in Classical and Medieval Sanskrit Literature” (January 2017 to August 2017).

Amir Hamid (Islamic and Middle Eastern studies/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted his doctoral thesis “Mediating Desire: Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī and the Circulation of Norms on Gender & Sexuality in the Transnational Muslim Public” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his dissertation review in November 2017.

Philipp Hetmantcyk (religious studies/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted his doctoral thesis “Begräbnispraxis in China zwischen ‘Wirtschaftsrationalität’ und ‘Verschwendung’: Ökonomische Bewertungen von Religion im Kontext von Religionspolitik und Religionsphilosophie” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his dissertation review in April 2016.

Almut Höfert (transcultural history of the Latin and Arabic Middle Ages/URPP Asia and Europe) accepted an offer for a professorship of the history of the Middle Ages at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.

Sandra Hotz (legal studies/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted her habilitation “Selbstbestimmung im Vertragsrecht. Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Verträgen zu ‘Liebe’, Sex und Fortpflanzung. Rechtliche und kulturelle (Schweiz, Deutschland, Japan) sowie theoretische Perspektiven zu den Grenzen der Autonomie” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed her habilitation review in June 2017.

Eliza Isabaeva (social and cultural anthropology/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted her doctoral thesis “Negotiating Illegality: Re-Production of State Structures in an Illegal Squatter Settlement in Bishkek” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed her dissertation review in November 2017. Furthermore, she received a visiting research grant from the Faculty of Philosophy for a two month stay at the University of Konstanz (October to November 2016) and for a two month stay at Bogazici University (July to August 2017).

Katrin Kaufmann (art history/URPP Asia and Europe) received a one year research fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation for her PhD project “Orientvisionen im zaristischen Russland – Neo-islamische Architektur und Interieurs in St. Petersburg” (January 2017 to October 2017).

Phillip Lasater (biblical studies/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted his doctoral thesis “The Facets of Fear: Fear of God in Exilic and Post-Exilic Contexts” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his dissertation review in March 2017.

Ayaka Löschke (Japanese studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received a visiting research grant from the Faculty of Philosophy for a two month stay at the Department of Health Science and Social Welfare, Faculty of Human Sciences at Waseda University (May to June 2017).

Angelika Malinar (Indian studies/URPP Asia and Europe) and Elisa Ganser (Indian studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received three years of funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation for their reseach project “Performing Arts and Religious Practices in Classical and Medieval Sanskrit Literature” (April 2018 to March 2021).

Nina Rageth (religious studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received one year SNF-Doc.Mobility funding for her PhD project “Siddha Medicine in the Context of Neo-Hindu Organizations in Contemporary South India: The Convergence of Religion and Medicine” (October 2017 to September 2018).

Henning Sievert (Islamic and Middle Eastern studies/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted his habilitation “Libyen im späten 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert: Wissen, Vermittlung und politische Kommunikation” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his habilitation review in December 2016. In 2017, he received a call to the University of Heidelberg.

Raji C. Steineck (Japanology/URPP Asia and Europe) received a five year ERC Advanced Grant for his project on “Time in Medieval Japan” (TIMEJ), starting in September 2017.

Ralph Weber (comparative philosophy/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted his habilitation “Tertium comparationis – Vergleichende Philosophie und Philosophie des Vergleichs” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed his habilitation review in May 2016.

Urs Weber (religious studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received an extension of his Doc.CH grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation for the completion of his PhD project “Bestattungspraktiken in Taiwan: Tradition, Moderne und ritueller Wandel” (until February 2018).

Tobias Weiss (Japanese studies/URPP Asia and Europe) received a one year grant from ETH/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for his PhD project “'Fukushima’ in Japan. Mediensystem, Netzwerke und Framing” (August 2016 to March 2017).

Helena Wu (Chinese studies/URPP Asia and Europe) submitted her doctoral thesis “Reconfiguring ‘Post’colonial Local Relations through Things, Places, and Bodies in Hong Kong Culture and Society” to the University of Zurich and successfully completed her dissertation review in September 2017.