Top scientist Sharon Macdonald takes up research on the Humboldt Forum in Berlin
Press release from 05/11/2015
The winner of the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship will conduct research at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) on the museum presentation of knowledge and, in close cooperation with the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) and the Museum für Naturkunde (MfN), will also provide new impetus for the Humboldt Forum.
Sharon Jeanette Macdonald says: "The Alexander von Humboldt Professorship is a great opportunity to establish a centre for social anthropological and ethnographic research for museums and cultural heritage. As the professorship established at the HU is supported by both the SPK and the MfN, it can contribute to stronger networking between the participating institutions and promote a productive exchange. I am very much looking forward to this joint work. The Humboldt Forum is without doubt an outstanding project. We now have a unique opportunity to research its creation and reception. On the basis of this research, our knowledge of international academic debates and innovative approaches, my team and I would like to provide productive impetus for the further development of the Humboldt Forum."
Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK, says: "It is a great opportunity to further intensify the networking of the SPK in the Berlin research landscape with the new centre. Not least the Humboldt Forum will benefit enormously from the new cutting-edge research in Berlin."
The museum scientist and ethnologist is regarded as one of the outstanding anthropologists in Europe. She was jointly nominated by the SPK, the MfN and the HU for Germany's most highly endowed research award. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation finances research by leading scientists in Germany with up to five million euros. On 12 May, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Johanna Wanka, and the President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Helmut Schwarz, will award the Alexander von Humboldt Professorships to the four award winners and one award winner from abroad.