Hannes Ziegler has been Chair of Early Modern History at TU Dresden since October 2024. He previously studied history and ethnology in Munich and Edinburgh and then wrote his doctoral thesis in Munich as an assistant to Arndt Brendecke. From 2016, he spent almost five years at the DHI London and then returned to Munich with an Emmy Noether Junior Research Group. From there, and after completing his habilitation in 2022, he was appointed to TU Dresden last year.

After his first semester at TUD, he now tells us more about what makes a good project and what lessons he was able to learn from his dissertation:

Name: Prof. Hannes Ziegler
Position/Professorship: Chair of Early Modern History
Institute/Faculty: Institute of History, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science

What are your core research areas and research interests?
In recent years, and certainly also in the future, my focus has been on English and British early modern history, i.e. the period from around 1500 to 1800. But I have also worked intensively on German history, as well as – methodologically – on the history of emotions. In my teaching, I try to cover these topics quite broadly in order to give students an overview as well as the opportunity to delve deeper into individual topics in seminars if they are interested.

What was your most interesting or exciting research project?
The most exciting and interesting project was my doctoral thesis. It dealt with the question of whether and how political relations in the early modern period were determined by the factor of trust and, more importantly for me, what methodological approach can be used to investigate this from today's perspective.
But the topic is basically arbitrary. It was the most exciting and interesting project because the dissertation is a phase of academic work in which you have to prove yourself. In front of others, but even more so in front of yourself: Can you actually do that, write a dissertation? It is, to a certain extent, a very existential experience and I believe that topics that are so closely linked to one's own life path dig deep into the brain. The curious thing is: for outsiders, what is so exciting for you are often very ordinary, sometimes boring questions. That is also an important experience.

What project are you currently working on?
I would describe myself – without being flirtatious – as "between projects". I've completed my qualification work, I'm working on individual publication projects (for example, a survey of English history and an introduction to my subject area) and I'm busy finding my feet and feeling comfortable in my new role and new tasks. You can't force projects: A good project comes upon you and then doesn't let you go for quite some time. However, in order to allow them to happen, you sometimes have to lean back.

What should never be missing from your desk?
A cup of strong Darjeeling with milk – what the English call "builder's brew".

Do you have a favorite quote? If so, which one and who is it from?
"The economy of logic, which demands that no more logic be used than is necessary for the needs of practice, has the effect that the universe of discourse in relation to which this or that logical class (i.e. its complement) is formed can remain implicit, because in each individual case it is implicitly defined in and by the practical relation to the situation." – Pierre Bourdieu [just kidding]

What was the last book you read?
"The Crow Road" by Iain Banks

You can find more information about you on...
...the Chair's website: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/ige/fnz/die-professur/professor-prof-dr-hannes-ziegler