Professor of Iranian Studies
"My interests cover a wide ground in Persianate culture, ranging from classical poetry to contemporary novels and from medieval history to intellectual discourses in Iran and the diaspora."
Professor of Islamic Studies
"My major project is the establishment of the Bamberg Islam-Encyclopedia (BIE), an online reference guide on the subject of Islam, which on the one side meets the quality criteria of a specialist encyclopedia, but is integrated also into Wikipedia and uses its unique technical and media possibilities. Our students are also involved in this project. In this way, research, teaching and science transfer for the interested public can be combined."
Professor of Arabic and Semitic Studies
"My research and teaching focus on linguistic issues (phonology, morphology, syntax) in Arabic and Semitic in general. I am also interested in the interface between linguistic coding on the one hand and politics and diplomacy on the other."
Professor of General Linguistics
"I am a general linguist, with an areal specialization on the languages of the Middle East and a special focus on Kurdish. My research interests include language typology, language documentation, and the structure of connected spoken discourse."
Professor of Turkish Studies
"My fields of interest include biographical research for the late Ottoman period, Ottoman Iraq, Ottoman historiography and intellectual history of the Turkish republic. These topics offer academic leeway for discussions about manifold cultural interactions of past times and open a forum for multiple research issues."
Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology
"In my work, I am focusing on topics of art and material culture, such as the question of particular forms of representation. Middle Eastern culture has been deeply influenced by Islamic religion, but other traditions were also important factors in shaping everyday life as well as the art and architecture of the region. This can be demonstrated on the basis of art historical and archaeological findings.I have always been fascinated by travelling and working in the field, be it in the Arab World, be it in Iran, Turkey, or Central Asia. I am looking forward to discussions about cultural history with students of our new Master’s programme."
Professor of Jewish Studies
"I am keenly interested in the religious and cultural interactions between the manifold Jewish minorities and their Christian and Muslim majority counterparts – past and present."
Associated Departements
Prof. Dr Thomas Demmelhuber, Professor of Middle East Politics and Society
Dr. J?rn Thielmann, Managing Director of the Erlangen Center for Islam and Law in Europe (EZIRE)