The short version

My origin is Immekeppel, a village near the City of Cologne. After high school I lived successively in Tübingen, Ramallah, Damascus and Berlin until in 2007 I finally ended up in Rotterdam. In Tübingen and Berlin, I studied political science, put a good deal of effort into Arabic and learned a lot about social as well as political engagement. After my diploma I traveled five months through West Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso). Later in 2004, I started my job at the German Federal Foreign Office. There, I was busy with the Middle East. After three years it became obvious: That’s not me. Following this insight I applied for different Ph.D positions and was lucky with the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. So now I move within the lofty heights of academia and the not so lofty heights of an alleged “achterstandsbuurt” (underprivileged area) in Rotterdam. I like it.

The official version

Look here for the CV version of my life.

Why I do research?

Well… I enjoy looking at social phenomena around me, trying to understand what is going on, allowing myself to be surprised and sharing it. The freedom a researcher needs has unfortunately become more difficult to find in academic-scientific work. I am among those fortunate to enjoy the necessary amount of freedom in order to be able to do my job well.

It is in my opinion crucial that research is linked to teaching and public debates. I am not saying that the EXPERT opinion is the solution to all questions. More than often it is not and the term “expert” has become inflationary and in many cases a sign of overestimation. However, those researchers who have the possibility to engage in long-term research on social phenomena might have important things to add. And yes, academic work, at least in the way I understand it, is part of my social and political engagement.

No wonder therefore that I enjoyed reading these inspiring pieces of thoughts: David Graeber: Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology