department iii

Tree of Knowledge HaK133, painting by Hilma af Klint, courtesy of The Hilma af Klint Foundation _ Photo_Moderna Museet-Stockholm.

Dept. III

Artifacts, Action, Knowledge

Department III studies the history of knowledge and action considering the changing role of artifacts: texts, objects, and spaces. Our research collectively examines the processes and structures by which people grappled with the materiality of existence. Through the analysis of everyday actions, we interrogate the boundaries and intersections between the inner workings of objects and all domains of life. Together these approaches allow us to pursue inquiries into historical epistemologies of action. Our research structure has three entry points: artifacts (things), action (making), knowledge (work). 

Events

How the Plague Became Globally Visible – Mapping as a Method in Modern Western Medicine

MORE

Sebastian Münster’s Cosmography: Making Maps and Imaging Germany

MORE

Thematic Mapping in 18th to 19th century Germany

MORE

News & Press

Research Article Fellowships, Student Assistant positions, and a Postdoctoral Scholar position

More

Tristan Brown receives John K. Fairbank Prize in East Asian History for his book Laws of the Land

More

Mirage News on 50 years of cooperation between Max Planck Society and Chinese Academy of Sciences

More

Publications

Multimedia

Features