Current research projects

Professor Brixius is currently working on two major research projects. In her main project, she investigate the origins and development of the Dresden Botanical Garden from its foundation in 1818 until around 1920. On the one hand, she examines the Saxon local networks of the garden under  the first garden director, the botanist and zoologist Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (1793-1879), which included not only seed dealers and private gardens but also the Saxon royal family. Based on this, and especially at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century under the second garden director, professor of botany and plant geographer, Oskar Drude (1852-1933), she examines the connections between European gardens and (German) colonial history.

On the other hand, Professor Brixius is researching the medical practices of the Parisian physician Noël Vallant (1632-1685) in the Grand Siècle. Her study focuses on the ailments, diagnoses and treatments of Vallant's female patients in the second half of the seventeenth century. By examining Vallant's medical records, consisting of his correspondence, consultations, prescriptions, forms of therapy, unsystematic notes and much more, her project sheds light on the production and application of healing knowledge in relation to women. Healing knowledge and health care are understood as holistic categories that encompass not only illness and healing, but also physical and mental health, prevention and body care. In this context, healthcare refers to the actual application of healing-related knowledge.

Professor Brixius is also involved in a variety of interdisciplinary research projects such as with zoology, botany or Catholic theology. Furthermore, the Junior Professorship is in close exchange with the BMBF joint project: Natural Research and Protestant Mission - The Plant Collections of the Moravian Church in the Herbarium of the TU Dresden: Identification and Contextualization with Methods of Digital Humanities.