News Archive

In June of this year, Julia Vorhölter was awarded funding from the Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG) for a position as Head of Research Group at the MPI. Her project, entitled “Sleep and Sleeplessness in Germany – Rethinking Agency, Knowledge, and Experience through Sleep”, builds on research conducted as a research fellow at the MPI (see selected publications below for more information). In addition to continuing her own research on sleep, she will also join forces with colleagues at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) to establish an interdisciplinary lab that brings together medicine and medical anthropology. The lab will be run in close collaboration with Patrick Jahn, Professor for Health Service Research at MLU. more

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally shook our lives and its global consequences are still being felt today. There is much that has not yet been fully investigated. A lecture by Luisa Piart as part of Science Night in Halle on 4 July will explore one such overlooked story. In addition to children, the sick and elderly, and people living in precarity, there is another group that was particularly affected by the global lockdown – seafarers on international shipping vessels. Piart will present her research on their fates at 18:00 in the Melanchthonianum on the university square. The topic is also the subject of a current exhibition in the Stadtmuseum Halle. Piart will provide a guided tour on Friday, 4 July starting at 21:00. more

The research project “Transforming Human Rights,” based at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), will become a Cluster of Excellence as part of the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments. This was announced late Thursday afternoon by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Science Council (WR). The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology is a cooperation partner in this project and congratulates FAU on this outstanding success. more

Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (MPI) is pleased to announce the opening of the public exhibition "in der Nähe" ("In the Nearby") in Neustadt Centrum Halle. As a unique opportunity to rediscover Halle from the perspective of its migrants, the exhibition reflects the MPI’s objective of making our research available to the wider public. Thanks to the support of Neustadt Centrum Halle and the office for the economy, science, and digitalization of the city of Halle (Saale), the exhibition will be on display from 12 May to 7 June 2025. more

The website Ticketless Travellers (https://ticketless-travellers.info/) features writings, pictures, videos, audioscapes, and drawings created by working-class residents of Delhi. Presented in Hindi and English, these narratives showcase an intimate view of the megapolis as seen through the eyes of its labourers. The project draws on 15 years of anthropological research by Ursula Rao, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, in collaboration with Ankur Society for Alternatives in Education. more

At irregular intervals we publish interviews with alumni of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. We find out where they are living and working now, what they are conducting research on, and how their time at the MPI shaped their subsequent careers. In closing they share their advice for young anthropologists and name a book that has impressed them recently. more

Financial institutions around the world have made it easier for private individuals to take out a variety of loans and use financial products to invest and speculate. This trend has affected the ways in which people purchase property, consume desired goods, or cope with financial crises. But the influence of debt and the financial industry extends also beyond the economic sphere to changing lifestyles, gender relations, and familial ties. The conference ‘Household Finance in an Unequal World: Social Approaches’ at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology on 5–6 December takes a closer look at these developments. more

It is with great sadness that we received the news of the death of Thomas Hylland Eriksen, a highly valued colleague whom we were honoured to have as the External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. Thomas Hylland Eriksen was among the most prominent social anthropologists of our time. His ideas have influenced generations of anthropologists and even far beyond, reaching broad audiences around the world. He was a frequent guest at the MPI and his lectures and contributions greatly enriched our scientific profile. His passing on 27 November 2024 at the age of 62 came far too soon. We will sorely miss his insights and passion and the sincere and straightforward manner with which he embraced scholarly discussions. more

Dr. Hatem Elliesie, long-time Group Leader in the Department ‘Law & Anthropology’ at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, accepted an appointment as Professor for Islamic Law at Leipzig University on 1 August 2024. We talked with him about his new responsibilities and his research and teaching plans. more

Sleep is a fragile state. It is easily disrupted and does not come at our bidding. For even though we can try to create ideal conditions for getting sufficient restful sleep, it cannot be consciously controlled. Because there is no intentional action by which we can will ourselves to sleep, sleep disorders are all the more distressing. Consequently, getting to the bottom of the various types and causes of disturbed sleep has long been an important concern in medicine and related fields. Today, this is often studied with the help of sleep labs. But do they actually work? We talked with Julia Vorhölter about her research in German sleep labs and about the particular atmosphere of a space where the private and intimate realm of sleep meets technological diagnostic equipment. more