16 researchers from 8 countries collaborate to study islands under the subheadings of island exchanges, island environments, and island perceptions. The academic network is funded by the DFG since February 2021 and coordinated by Historian Laura Dierksmeier and Archaeologist Frerich Schön.

Sensory Communities in the Early Modern Town

This book project analyses the role of sense perception in community building in early modern urban society, using the city of Ulm as a case study. (Philip Hahn)

Manila was an early modern triumph of Chinese-Spanish trade, and also the theater of catastrophic anti-Chinese violence, most notably in 1603, 1639, and 1662. This project asks: what was the role of Habsburg justice in Manila, how did its Chinese navigate this system to shape the city in their interests, and lastly, why did successful communication and commerce nonetheless fail to resolve the issues which led to massive violence? (Adrian Masters, SFB 923)

Religious Responses to Water Scarcity

For my second book (Habilitation), I research religious and cultural responses to water scarcity (drought) and excess (flooding) on islands under the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire, which were – and remain today- challenged by freshwater management. (Laura Dierksmeier, SFB 1070)

Country Houses in Times of Change

Society and its transformations in German regions,18th to 20th centuries (Anne Sophie Overkamp, Daniel Menning, Christoph Schlemmer, Manuela Mann, Kira Keßler)