English
Annette Vowinckel
Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
CV
Since October 2013: Privatdozentin for Modern and Cotemporary History, Humboldt University Berlin
July 2011 - Oct. 2012: Head of research group »Change of the Political in the 20th Century« (ZZF Potsdam)
Since April 2009: Researcher at Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam (ZZF)
Winter term 2008/09: Teaching European History of the 20th Century at Humboldt University (replacing Prof. Thomas Mergel)
Habilitation (second doctorate) 2006 in Cultural Studies at Humboldt University Berlin. Thesis: »The Age of Relation. Individuality, Normality und the Mediocre in Renaissance Culture«, Advisor: Prof. Hartmut Böhme
Ph.D. 1999: »Notions of History in the Work of Hannah Arendt« [»Geschichtsbegriff und Historisches Denken bei Hannah Arendt«], Supervisor: Prof. Dan Diner, Essen University (published Köln/Weimar: Böhlau 2001)
Student (1987-1994)
Bielefeld University, University of Cologne and the Hebrew University Jerusalem
History, Spanish, Art Education, Film and Television Studies
Fellowships/Prices
2021: Finalist for the Peter Haber Price for digital History (Poster)
Since August 2021: Professor (apl.) for Modern and Contemporary History at Humboldt University Berlin
Since March 2014: Head of research group „Media History“ (with Juergen Danyel)
Since October 2013: Privatdozentin for Modern and Cotemporary History, Humboldt University Berlin
July 2011 - Oct. 2012: Head of research group »Change of the Political in the 20th Century« (ZZF Potsdam)
Since April 2009: Researcher at Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam (ZZF)
2010 to 2017: Equal Opportunities Office (ZZF)
Winter term 2009/10: Teaching Media Studies at Potsdam University (full time, replacing Prof. Dieter Mersch)
Winter term 2008/09: Teaching European History of the 20th Century at Humboldt University (replacing Prof. Thomas Mergel)
Habilitation (second doctorate) 2006 in Cultural Studies at Humboldt University Berlin. Thesis: »The Age of Relation. Individuality, Normality und the Mediocre in Renaissance Culture«, Advisor: Prof. Hartmut Böhme
Ph.D. 1999: »Notions of History in the Work of Hannah Arendt« [»Geschichtsbegriff und Historisches Denken bei Hannah Arendt«], Supervisor: Prof. Dan Diner, Essen University (published Köln/Weimar: Böhlau 2001)
Student (1987-1994)
Bielefeld University, University of Cologne and the Hebrew University Jerusalem
History, Spanish, Art Education, Film and Television Studies
2021: Finalist for the Peter Haber Price for digital History (Poster)
2021: Fellow of the Research Cluster Cinepoetics - Center for Advanced Film Studies, Free University Berlin
2010: Research Fellowship at Internationales Foschungszentrum Kulturwissenschaften Wien (IFK) (declined)
2005: Mentee of ProFiL-Programm
2000-2002: Fellowship of the Senate of Berlin („Berliner Programm zur Förderung der Chancengleichheit für Frauen in Lehre und Forschung“)
1998: Ph.D. fellowship of Hamburger Stiftung zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Kultur
1995-1998: Ph.D. fellowship, Konrad Adenauer Foundation
1995/96: DAAD fellwoship, archival research at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C./Leo Baeck Institute, New York
1994: DAAD fellowship for archival research in Israel
1992/93: Bielefelder Universitätsgesellschaft (for studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem)
Editorial Work
Zeihistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History
Visual History
History, Culture and Modernity (2013-2021)
Board of editors of the Critical Edition of the Works of Hannah Arendt, Wallstein-Verlag
Supervision: Annette Vowinckel, Jürgen Danyel
Participants: ZZF Potsdam, Herder-Institute Marbach, Georg Eckert-Institut for International Research on School Books Braunschweig, Deutsches Museum München
Project Blog: www.visual-history.de
The aim of this project is to implement a website providing crucial information in the field of visual history, including encyclopedic articles as well as case studies, information on current research projects, conferences, new books, and legal standards of picture publishing.
2005: Mentee of ProFiL-Programm
2000-2002: Fellowship of the Senate of Berlin („Berliner Programm zur Förderung der Chancengleichheit für Frauen in Lehre und Forschung“)
1998: Ph.D. fellowship of Hamburger Stiftung zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Kultur
1995-1998: Ph.D. fellowship, Konrad Adenauer Foundation
1995/96: DAAD fellwoship, archival research at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C./Leo Baeck Institute, New York
1994: DAAD fellowship for archival research in Israel
1992/93: Bielefelder Universitätsgesellschaft (for studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem)
Editorial Work
Zeihistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History
Visual History
History, Culture and Modernity (2013-2021)
Member of:
Board of editors of the Critical Edition of the Works of Hannah Arendt, Wallstein-Verlag
Scientific Board of the Project: The Legacy of Leni Riefenstahl
Research Projects:
ADN-Zentralbild and Photo International: The Official Visual Legacy of the GDR
When the East German photo agency Zentralbild was founded and incorporated into the news agency ADN, its task was to radiate an optimistic view of life in as socialist state and society. Along with so-called "protocol photos" came images of happy families, neat houses, and modern commodities. Thus, Zentralbild came up with an alternative to the kind of social documentary photography as practiced, for instance by Farm Security Administration photographers in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. The idea was not to criticize governments for not taking care of the population, the idea was to prove that socialism offered a better life than capitalism. Photographers like Erich Zühlsdorf, Heinz Junge, Hubert Link and Gabriele Senft provided pictures that might be labeled as propaganda, yet they also documented an optimistic version of life in a socialist society. While the normative message of social documentary photographers in the West was that the future must get better than the miserable present, their message was that the future will be (even) better than the present.
Today, however, these pictures seem to be a mere relic. Public visual memory of the GDR is dominated by the circle of photographers around Arno Fischer—including, among others, the future founders of the Ostkreuz photo cooperative, who refused to join in on Zentralbild’s high gloss version of life in a socialist society.
In my book I will describe Zentralbild and the socialist photo network "Photo International", which Zentralbild was part of, as a major player in the field of photojournalism and relate the photographs to written concepts, project descriptions and correspondences, which are part of the ADN repository at the German Federal Archives. I will argue that the visual history of the GDR will be blurred if we do not include Zentralbild as the GDR's most impactful photo broker.
On the one hand, images steadily gain attention as historical sources and as subjects of research. On the other hand, those who produce, distribute, edit, sell or buy pictures often remain anonymous. This book aims at answering the question of how „photographic action“ comes to be a new form of political action that draws on the documentary force as well as on the subjective reality of photography. Given that photojournalism is at its best in the context of war and the violation of human rights the question of whether photography can change the course of politics will be addressed and answered on the base of several case studies.
Visual History. Institutions and Media of Visual Memory
Supervision: Annette Vowinckel, Jürgen Danyel
Participants: ZZF Potsdam, Herder-Institute Marbach, Georg Eckert-Institut for International Research on School Books Braunschweig, Deutsches Museum München
Project Blog: www.visual-history.de
The aim of this project is to implement a website providing crucial information in the field of visual history, including encyclopedic articles as well as case studies, information on current research projects, conferences, new books, and legal standards of picture publishing.