I've published something new: In this piece "Property as Affect", I explore how property as an affective relation shapes the hierarchies of modern life - in its global entanglements of colonialism, capitalism, and modern statehood: doi.org/10.4324/9781....

Join arjunraj for a hands-on collaborative storytelling workshop in Dubai that explores creating narratives with others through embodied and collaborative practices. 🗓 Friday, 23 January 2026 🕜 4:00 – 8:00 PM 📍 KAVE, Dubai 👥 Age: 18+ thestoryofthings.com...

Can indigeneity exist without the state—and can it also be a weapon against it? In our next Anthropology Colloquium, Timo Duile will talk about this, based on his work on adat and indigenous recognition in Indonesia. Tuesday, January 20, 6-8 PM in room 222, ESA West.

At Tuesday's Anthropology Colloquium, Laura Ogden and Rachel Yeboah-Afari presented their collaborative research on transnational siblings, which included a podcast created by young people of Ghanaian background living in Hamburg. Thank you both so much for sharing your work and insights with us!

Julian Sommerschuh and Michael Schnegg have recently published their article "How to Be Hopeful About Climate Change" in the American Anthropologist. Read the article here: doi.org/10.1111/aman...

In next week's anthropology colloquium, Laura Ogden from the University of Maastricht will give a talk titled: "Podcasting Kinship: A co-research project on transnational siblings with Ghanaian-background youth in Hamburg." Tuesday, January 13 from 6-8 PM, Room 222, ESA West.

How to think of the responsibility of the university in a time of crises that are threatening its very existence? In yesterday’s colloquium, Katharina Schramm engaged these difficult questions in an inspiring and timely talk on: “When was the University: On the Future of Engagement”

In our first Anthropology Colloquium of the new year we welcome Katharina Schramm (Uni Bayreuth) with a talk titled "When was the University? On the Future of Engagement". Tomorrow, Tuesday January 5, from 6-8 pm in Room 222, ESA W.

Nicht vergessen: ✨ Winter-Party 2025 ✨ 📅 16.12. | ⏰ ab 18 Uhr Das Institut & der FSR laden zum Jahresausklang ein: Glühwein 🍷, Mitbringbuffet 🥗, Musik 🎶, Spiele & gute Stimmung – Motto: Sterne ⭐

We invite paper submissions for our EASA2026 panel “Affective Governance: Analysing Atmospheres in Political and Legal Anthropology", convened by Tirthankar Chakraborty and Jonas Bens. Please submit via the EASA online system by 26 Jan 2026, 23:59 CET: nomadit.co.uk/confer... #EASA2026

Michael Schnegg and Jonas Bens have recently contributed an entry on "Atmospheres" in the Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Find it here: anthroencyclopedia.c...

We are inviting contributions to the workshop 'Ethnography and Law: Methods and Challenges in Times of Crisis', which will take place at the University of Hamburg on July 2-3, 2026. Deadline for submission is December 31, 2025. Find full CfP here: www.ethnologie.uni-h...

The new issue of Ethnoscripts Vol. 27 (2025) is out now: Think Pieces and Special Issue: ‘Jewish Cultural Heritage, Minority Agency, and the State’ and more. journals.sub.uni-ham...

In next week's colloquium, we'll be watching the film Dahomey by Mati Diop. The film, which won the main prize at the Berlinale 2024, gives an account of the restitution of 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey.

New publication by Julia Pauli: Namibian Wedding Stories: Narrating Kinship and Social Class in Urban Namibia. Appears in the Journal of Southern African Studies. Read it here (open access): www.tandfonline.com/....

Tonight, Andrea Scholz from the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin spoke about her long-term collaboration project with the Macucu community in the Amazon and gave some inspiring insights into how the collaboration transforms both museum practice and the community’s relation to its cultural heritage.

At this year’s meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Michael Schnegg was awarded the Stirling Prize for his article Collective Loneliness: Theorizing Emotions as Atmospheres. We are very proud of this wonderful achievement! Read the article here: http://dx.doi.org/10....

On Tuesday, Andrea Scholz will speak about the collaboration between the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin and the Macucu community, positionality and affective relationships in research and practice, and future prospects of collaborative approaches in times of a shift to the right in cultural policy.

The Comfort of the Unmarked? Dwelling beyond the Returnee Condition in Cuba — Valerio Simoni (University of Lisbon) on how Cuban returnees navigate pressures to “make a difference” and find spaces of pleasure and dwelling. Anthropology Colloquium next Tuesday, November 25, 6–8pm

Hier ein aktuelles Interview im Newsroom der Uni Hamburg mit Prof. Jonas Bens über "Normative Konflikte und wie sie entstehen":

Join us on Tuesday, November 18, for our weekly Anthropology Colloquium, where Lars Frühsorge from the Ethnographic collection of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck will speak about the challenges and potentials of progressive museum practice.

On November 15: Presentation, Conversation and Screening of TWO MOTHERS by Giulia Di Maggio at silent green, Cupola Gerichtstraße 35, Berlin, with Julia Pauli. Feel free to join us! For more information: www.harun-farocki-in...

Next Tuesday, Leonie Benker will be our guest in the Anthropology Colloquium, with a presentation titled "Poisonous Politics: Political Atmosphere and Generational Conflict in Contemporary Uganda". We are looking much forward to hear more about this inspiring research! November 11 from 6 PM.

Maren Jordan has received the Frobenius Institute Research Award 2025 for her outstanding dissertation “Temporalities of Reproduction: Fertility Transformations across Generations in the Sultanate of Oman”, supervised by Prof. Dr. Julia Pauli and Prof. Dr. Laila Prager. We warmly congratulate her!

In next week's anthropology colloquium our student film group AnthropoMedia will be screening the film "O Mundo Preto Tem Mais Vida" by Sabrina Duran. Zica Pires, water activist and artist will be joining us online to discuss the film with us after the screening. November 4, 6-8 PM. Looking forward!

In next week's anthropology colloquium: Tim Burger (Austrian Academy of Sciences) on "Calculating a Free Gift: Perfect Transfers and the Holy Ghost Festival on the Azores".

What a pleasure to have Can Akin present his PhD research with Mexican return migrants for us in the first colloquium of the winter term.

Can Akin will be our guest in the first colloquium of the winter semester, with a presentation titled "No longer alone: Return migration, social isolation and infrastructures of belonging in Mexico City". On next Tuesday, October 21, in room 222, ESA West at 6 PM. See you then!

I have published a new article in the new issue of Oñati Socio-Legal Series: Capitalist Property as Epistemic Violence: Ethnographic Museums, Colonial Restitution and the Cosmopolitical Challenge. The article is available open access here: opo.iisj.net/index.p...

Meet the Profs! Wozu forschen die Profs am Institut für Ethnologie? Wer kann meine MA- oder BA-Arbeit betreuen? Lerne Lehrende und Mitstudierende im informellen Rahmen kennen und sammle Inspiration für deine Arbeit. Auch für fortgeschrittene BA-Studierende. 14.10. ab 18:15 im Raum 222, ESA West

Für neue Studierende des M.A. Ethnologie: Einführung am Montag d. 13.10.2025 von 11:00–14:00 Uhr mit Bibliotheksführung und anschließendem gemeinsamen Mensabesuch. Mit Julian Sommerschuh, Jonas Bens und Otto Habeck. Ab 11 Uhr im Seminarraum 221, Institut für Ethnologie, ESA West.

What Moves Us? Affects, Materialities, Politics We are thrilled and honoured to bring the 2027 conference of the DGSKA to our institute in Hamburg. Thank you to all participants at the conference in Cologne for your support. We are looking forward to welcoming you all in Hamburg in two years!

Julia Pauli’s latest article has just been published in Anthropology of Consciousness: “Haunted by Houses: Built and Lived Absences in a Transnational Mexican Community.” Find it (open access) on AnthroSource!

On Sept 20, our Hamburg anthropology team visited the Slavery Museum in Zanzibar Old Town. The site explores the history of enslavement and the Indian Ocean slave trade. The visit is part of our preparation for extended research on materialities, colonialism & enslavement. Photos: Arjunraj

On Sept 19, our colleague Arjunraj (Anthropology, Hamburg) hosted a collaborative storytelling workshop at Ajabu Ajabu screen collective in Dar es Salaam. The workshop explores practices of storytelling beyond boundaries. Photos: Habib

On Sept 18, our Hamburg anthropology team hosted a panel on collaborative museum restitution at Ajabu Ajabu in Dar es Salaam. We discussed decolonizing art & academia with artists and activists, and shared visuals from our 7-year collaboration with Maasai communities. Photos: Arjunraj, Leonie Benker

Kummer und Hoffnung im Harz - Wie Menschen den Wandel ihres Waldes erleben. Interview mit Inga Sievert vom Institut für Ethnologie zu ihrer Promotion im Rahmen des Exzellenzclusters für Klimaforschung CLICCS. Hier zum mitlesen: www.uni-hamburg.de/n...

On Sept 16 we visited the University of Dodoma in Tanzania during our research trip. Our colleague Laibor Kalanga Moko, is both at Hamburg Anthro Dept. and is a Lecturer in Dodoma. UDOM is both an inspiring place of scholarship and has a most beautiful campus. Photos: Arjunraj

Im Gespräch mit @DLF Kultur habe ich die geplante Streichung der Professur für Kunst Afrikas an der FU Berlin kritisiert. Das wäre nicht nur ein Rückschritt für die Stärkung postkolonialer Perspektiven, sondern auch ein fatales politisches Signal im aktuellen Rechtsruck: www.deutschlandfunkk...

On Sept 12, our Hamburg anthropology team visited Olduvai Gorge, one of the most important sites for human history. Here, remains over 2 million years old were found — a powerful reminder that all humans have more in common than we often think. Photos: Arjunraj

On Sept 11, our Hamburg anthro team held a second workshop in Oltukai, Monduli. We discussed colonialism, restitution & Maasai belongings in German museums. Our interlocutors stressed to prioritize Maasai cosmologies regarding their belongings. Photos: Arjunraj, Soipey Parkipuny

On Sept 9–10, our Hamburg anthro team visited En’donyo Olmorwak (Elders’ Hill) in northern Tanzania. Every ~15 years the olng’eherr ritual is held here, when Ilmuran become elders. The site is now encroached by a military base and houses. Photos: Arjunraj, Michael Olekooni Laizer

On Sept 9–10, Laibor Kalanga Moko, Arjunraj, Bille Sachers, Leonie Benker & I held a workshop with Maasai Trad. Leaders in Boma Ng’Ombe, Tanzania on colonialism, museums & restitution, in our collaborative project Contested Property (co-led with Paola Ivanov). Photos: Arjunraj