Max Planck Institut für ethnologische Forschung

Visiting Fellows 2016

Year 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2012–2013

Visiting Fellows (in chronological order)

Christa Rautenbach (August–December 2016)
Research Interests

Legal pluralism, traditional justice and governance, cultural expertise, customary law, African constitutionalism

Research Areas

South Africa

Jacques Louis Matthee (September – November 2016)
Research Interests

Legal pluralism, culture, religion, crime

Research Areas

South Africa

Tomáš Ledvinka (May – October 2016)
Research Interests

Legal sodality, comitas gentium, Leopold Pospisil

Research Areas

Czech Republic, Afghanistan

Elizabeth Steyn (January – April 2016)
Research interests

Indigenous sacred sites, natural resource pluralism

Research Areas

Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand

Quotes

"I will always think back with fondness to the friendly staff of the Institute in the library, the IT Department, and the administrative staff of the Law & Anthropology Department in particular. They were all extremely supportive and helpful in everything, ranging from accommodation to visas, travelling, computer facilities and much more. Specifically, I am indebted to Professor Marie-Claire Foblets for her friendliness and support during my stay. She made me feel welcome and appreciated, and our conversations in Flemish/Afrikaans are memories which will stay with me for a very long time."

—Christa Rautenbach

"The Institute offered me numerous opportunities to engage with fellow researchers on topics of common interest. Not only was I included in the write-up seminars, organized by Brian Donahoe and Bertram Turner, and invited to attend presentations by other scholars working at the Institute, but was also invited to share my own research, together with other researchers, during a session organized by the Department. I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to have met Prof. Marie-Claire Foblets, whose work and contribution on the ‘cultural defence’ played a pivotal role in the research I conducted for my LLD thesis, titled One person's culture is another person's crime: A cultural defence in South African law? I have no doubt that the ties I established with Prof. Foblets, as well as the other researchers, will lead to future collaboration on research topics of common interest, as well as topics that fall within the research scope of the Department."

—Jacques Matthee

"There is no doubt that the four-month period I spent at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology as Visiting Fellow of the Department of Law and Anthropology counts as one of the richest experiences of my life. It afforded me the opportunity to home in on my doctoral thesis with tremendous focus. In this I benefited from a true team effort: the Institute’s ultra-efficient personnel proactively anticipated any needs, freeing me to concentrate on my work; the senior researchers engaged, challenged and enriched my thinking in a myriad of ways; and Professor Marie-Claire Foblets significantly expanded my horizons."

—Elizabeth Steyn