The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
Reflections on the First Chapter
The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), Cluster of Excellence, is coming to an end – for now. A new funding period will begin in 2026. Some will stay, some will leave, and new members will join.
With a sense of nostalgia in hindsight and excitement about what lies ahead, the first chapter is coming to a close. We therefore asked: What will you take away from BCDSS? What were your highlights?
Here are the answers from a wide range of outstanding researchers.
How do you envisage incorporating the theory of (strong) asymmetrical dependency into your future academic work?
Leon Kaplan
(Predoctoral Researcher and former MA Student)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“Overcoming the binary opposition of slavery versus freedom is intricately linked to questions of agency. As asymmetrical dependencies – particularly, but not exclusively, slavery – always involve the control of people’s actions and access to resources, this necessarily means a restriction of their agency, although this can never be total. Agency must therefore be understood as socially situated, rather than a matter of free choice. As my research project deals with slave suicide, this raises difficult but important questions, such as whether it is possible to interpret suicide both as an expression of agency and a response to oppressive social conditions marked by a lack of options.”
My keywords: Interdisciplinary - International - Transformative
Paul Graf
(Postdoctoral Researcher and former PhD Researcher)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“I plan to continue investigating the various aspects of asymmetrical dependency in my future research, including my main field of interest, Mesoamerican studies and Anthropology of the Americas, but also in other historical and contemporary contexts. In preparing my postdoctoral project, for example, I am implementing a new perspective on relationships of asymmetrical dependency in the form of social integration. Furthermore, I am interested in exploring further the outcome of my PhD thesis on asymmetrical dependency over the control of essential resources, since I think that it is very topical and can be applied in different social and political contexts.”
My keywords: Cohesive PhD cohorts - Collaborative research - Inspiring research field
Darlan Paulo Lorenzetti
(Postdoctoral Guest Researcher, Brazil, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/Brazil) Grant)
Photo by Darlan Lorenzetti
“My future academic projects are committed to a deep understanding of the role played by slavery in the history of the Latin American continent and a consolidation of a critical awareness of such structures. A meticulous examination of the philosophical-theological foundations of the ideology of slavery in Colonial Latin America is a fundamental step towards understanding the logics of dependency, domination and asymmetry on which their societies were historically built. Many of these structures of oppression unfortunately remain as power relations and in phenomena such as racism, social inequality, precarious working conditions and limited access to basic social rights.”
My keywords: Challenge - Connection - Innovation
Marion Gymnich
(Principal Investigator and former Co-Speaker)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“Research in the Cluster has shown that strong asymmetrical dependency is a concept that leads to new insights across disciplines. This is definitely also true for my field, English literary and cultural studies, where it serves as an eye-opener in many areas beyond the study of texts by and/or about formerly enslaved people. It invites us to re-read many classics of English and Anglophone literature and it may even make us aware of patterns and underlying assumptions in today’s popular culture, from the Young Adult dystopia to fantasy fiction – two of the genres in whose imaginary societies strong asymmetrical dependencies are omnipresent.”
My keywords: Innovation - Networks - Inspiration
Ishita Sarkar
(MA Student)
Photo by Ishita Sarkar
“I applied for the Masters Program at the BCDSS from a place of personal motivation to historically, culturally and scientifically explore the functioning of the institutions of caste and untouchability in India. But I am extremely pleased to say that, not only did the BCDSS help me to engage myself with a myriad of international discourses on caste and untouchability, but it also pushed my theoretical and methodological boundaries towards a vast range of other epistemic concepts, such as archival silencing, epistemic violence, visual cultures of dependency such as in photography, art and sculpture and not to mention, intersectionality and feminism in histories of oppression. Specifically, the classes with Prof. Dr. Pia Wiegmink and Prof. Dr. Claudia Jarzebowski had been intensely engaging for me as they have always inspired me to have an opinion, taught me self-reflexivity and made me believe that combining the personal and the academic, especially in feminist history, can indeed be a productive approach after all.”
My keywords: Feminism - Caste - Epistemic violence
Jaiannantpreet Singh
(MA Student)
Photo by Jaiannantpreet Singh
“Although not completely an academic work, I strongly believe that the understanding of asymmetrical dependency will help me explore the situation of my community within India, economically, socially as well as psychologically. This highly imbalanced and deep entanglement with the state could be the root cause of many fundamental problems within my (Sikh) community, from poverty, exploitation to mass migration of youth. One of the ways to fight the unjust is to expose it, and that's exactly where the theory of asymmetrical dependency can be helpful.”
My keywords: Possibility - Commitment - Learning
Ezequiel Mariano T. Costa
(Guest Researcher, Brazil, DAAD/CDEA Fellowship)
Photo by Ezequiel Mariano T. Costa
“The theory of asymmetrical dependency is central to my ongoing research on eugenics and racialized hierarchies in Latin America. It provides a conceptual lens to understand how colonial structures of knowledge and power persist in shaping social and institutional dependencies. In my future work, I aim to expand this perspective through the concept of “Amefricagenics,” analyzing how dependency operates not only economically but also symbolically, psychologically, and epistemically. This approach bridges legal theory, history, and race studies, reinforcing a critical dialogue in the Global South.”
My keywords: Dependency - Eugenics - Decoloniality
Bernardo Bonifácio Ferreira
(Guest Researcher, DAAD/CDEA Grant)
Photo by BCDSS
“In my research, I investigate algorithmic racism as an expression of the structural inequalities embedded in technological design and data infrastructures. Drawing on the theory of asymmetric dependency, I will analyse how technologies based on artificial intelligence reproduce historical legacies of exclusion and epistemic asymmetries. These systems transform social and political relations into sociotechnical impacts, maintaining dependencies between data, power, and visibility. This perspective demonstrates that digital technologies are not neutral but are products of historical processes that shape new forms of hierarchy and control.”
My keywords: Inspiration - Collaboration - Transformation
What has been a significant highlight of your time at the BCDSS?
Dima Al Munajed
(DEI Coordinator)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“Celebrating with everyone the BCDSS’s successful application for a second phase last May. I personally learned a lot from the application experience, and saw first-hand what collective effort can do. Celebrating was the tip of the iceberg, but what is unforgettable is the vast amount of preparation that goes into it, the required group effort, working dynamics of such a large team, combining perspectives, accepting feedback and using it to make the application stronger, dealing with months of stress, pulling through and supporting each other throughout, and then so much relief, joy and a communal sense of pride and achievement.”
My keywords: Dynamic work environment - Feeling valued - Connected to the team
Pia Wiegmink
(BCDSS Professor and Co-Speaker)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“I have fond memories of the Working Group “Life Writing, Slavery and Dependency.” To me, the cluster is more than the sum of the individual researcher’s accomplishments and the WG’s joint reading and discussion of diverse forms of life writing produced in contexts of dependency – for example, twelfth-century Tibet, the early modern Persianate world, eighteenth-century imperial Russia, Moldavia, and Mali, nineteenth-century Sierra Leone, Chile, Brazil, the US and the Caribbean – is but one example of the joy of collaborative research. In many of our monthly sessions I had “interdisciplinary epiphanies” – wonderful moments in which scholars’ different perspectives and expertise yielded fascinating results. Thank you!”
My keywords: Life writing - Interdisciplinary epiphany (or: interdisciplinarity) - Collaboration
Elena Smolarz
(Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“Looking back on my time at the BCDSS, I am most grateful for the successful, fruitful and appreciative interdisciplinary cooperation within Research Area A. Our discussions on established academic concepts of dependency and forced mobility, related emic terms and the possibilities and limitations of translating them greatly enriched the development of my research topics and methodological approach. Working in the “Life Writing” group broadened my knowledge of experienced and narrated dependency in various textual and regional contexts.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Pia Wiegmink, Jutta Wimmler, Jennifer Leetsch, and all the members of Research Area A for these valuable experiences.”
My keywords: Research - Teaching - Interdisciplinarity
Mercy Mashingaidze
(Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“Seeing one of the MA students whose Master’s thesis I actively co-supervised being awarded the ‘BCDSS Student Award for Outstanding MA Thesis’.”
My keywords: Motivating - Team-oriented - Inclusivity
Vital Byl
(Postdoctoral Researcher, DFG Research Grant)
Photo by Vital Byl
“The period when my project was hosted by the BCDSS contributed greatly to my scholarship but also to my self-reflection and sense of identity. The SAD framework prompted me to reflect on my own experiences of dependency and on my ancestors — Belarusian serfs. Almost magnetically, this reflection led to an exciting discovery: during my archival research in Warsaw, I came across a 200-year-old document recording the purchase of my serf ancestors by a local lord. My grandfather still came from the very village where they had been resettled. It was a magical moment — an intersection between scholarship and personal history.”
My keywords: Self-reflection - Discovery - Entanglement
Josef Köstlbauer
(Postdoctoral Researcher)
Photo by Barbara Frommann
“During my time at the BCDSS, I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of intellectual camaraderie and mutual support. Especially in the working groups, I experienced inspiring and amicable collaboration across disciplinary borders and this was of immense help in furthering my own research on historical semantics of dependency. There were many memorable moments, both on and off campus. One that I will never forget, was sitting in a beer garden on a fine June evening under the canopy of a huge old tree, with the whole group listening to a colleague speak in the birdsong-like Yucatec Maya language.”
My keywords: Intellectual camaraderie - Historical semantics of dependency - Collaboration
Jaiannantpreet Singh
(MA Student)
Photo by Jaiannantpreet Singh
“Last Winter Semester (24/25), I took a seminar on Digital Humanities which provided me with an excellent opportunity to not just learn and understand different digital tools but also to apply them in real world. As a part of this course, we were supposed to develop and present our own project using some of the tools we learnt. For this purpose, I chose one of the saddest chapters of Sikh History, "the Operation Blue Star," a military attack on the holiest shrine of Sikh community. The plan was to map out the casualties that took place during this massacre and close to the 41st mark of this, I was able to provide my professor as well as fellow classmates with a glimpse of the horror. Thanks to the course, I was able to convert names of around 633 people into a digital map with their location of death as well as status (civilian/fighter). This is a significant highlight as it helped me to pay a small tribute and provided me with the opportunity to do something meaningful instead of just looking at the numbers, events and being sorry.”
My keywords: Possibility - Commitment - Learning
Ipek Kayaalp
(MA Student)
Photo by Ipek Kayaalp
“As a student who previously studied English Literature, I was familiar with some of the concepts that the BCDSS explores under asymmetrical dependencies within only an English context. The thing that I find the most precious about the BCDSS is that it is not only multidisciplinary, but it also explores the concept of dependency through a wide spatial and temporal lens. A good example of this for me is the Joseph C. Miller Memorial Lecture Series. These lectures were always interesting as they brought attention to sometimes overlooked topics, and had the potential to create sparks of new-found research interests for us students.”
My keywords: Multidisciplinary - JCMM Lectures - Multifocality
Sonia Tesfaye Abebe
(MA Student)
Photo by Sonia Tesfaye Abebe
“A significant highlight of my time with the BCDSS was engaging with the Benin Bronzes during our visit to the Humboldt Museum in Berlin, as well as experiencing the curation of Cameron Rowland’s Amt 45i at the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Frankfurt. These encounters deepened my curiosity about diverse epistemological virtues, curatorial practices, and the spiritual and sacred dimensions of artifacts, particularly how they travel across time and space, carry memory, and embody contested histories.
The lessons we received enabled me to trace historical timelines while meaningfully connecting them to academic research. I deeply appreciated the care invested in creating a space where we could explore knowledge through our own lenses and draw upon our lived experiences. Moreover, sharing this journey with my classmates was profoundly enriching.”
My keywords: Voice - Collective - Future
Alex Maasen
(MA Student)
Photo by Alex Maasen
“The most significant highlight about my studies was the different ways that each professor approached their classes. It made each class unique while still covering similar topics. It was also my highlight to really work through an idea in one class while applying what other classes had taught me as well. I was able to come out with a truly deeper meaning of any text, and I felt like I had come to that conclusion naturally.“
My keywords: Enriching - Enhancing - Empowering
Luvena Kopp
(Postdoctoral Researcher and former PhD Researcher)
Photo by Tim Wulf
“I am grateful for the experience of co-organizing the annual Juneteenth Lecture at the BCDSS. Introduced a year after Juneteenth became a federal holiday in the US, this lecture, to me, demonstrates the close relationship between research and politics. The cutting-edge lectures by up-and-coming or internationally renowned scholars in the study of black liberation and art – such as Tiffany Florvil’s talk on black radical histories, Charmaine Nelson’s interpretation of fugitive slave ads from Canada, and Kinohi Nishikawa’s presentation of Toni Morrison’s late style – deeply inspired me and always allowed me to view my own research in a new light. I also recall exciting one-on-ones with speakers before and after their talks, such as an animated conversation with Nishikawa about the Black German movement on a hot day in the 66 train as we are heading to the venue.
I thank both the BCDSS and the cooperation partners, the AmerikaHaus NRW and the North American Studies Program at Bonn, for holding on to this fine event, especially at a time when black memories and knowledges are systematically targeted.”
My keywords: Juneteenth - Black knowledges - Cooperation
With this last post of Phase 1, we would like to inform you that there won’t be any regular blog posts in 2026. However, individual posts may be published at irregular intervals. We hope that, from 2027 onwards, the new PhD cohorts will continue this project on a regular basis. So, look out for news!
We want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed. We can’t thank you enough for your contributions, which have made this blog what it is: a window into our work and a glimpse behind the scenes.
Finally, we wish all former and future members and fellows of the BCDSS all the best for their academic careers and beyond.
- The Dependency Blog Editorial Team
