History of the Department of History and Cultural Studies
1998
June 29th: The advisory board passes the resolution to restructure the departments of the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB). Going forward, there will be only 12 departments as opposed to 18. The departments of History, Ancient Studies (without the Institute of Musicology and the Institute of Greek and Latin Philology), as well as Philosophy and Social Studies II (without Ethnology) will be consolidated as one department.
November 18th: The Academic Senate determines naming of the departments effective January 1st, 1999. The intensively debated recommendation of the three departments’ chairs to use the name ‘Department of History and Cultural Studies’ is accepted. The deans Prof. Dr. Günter Gobrecht (PhilSozII department), Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Nissen (Ancient Studies department), and Prof. Dr. Claudia Ulbrich (History department) make arrangements for the elections and necessary processes of restructuring.
1999
The new department consists of 20 institutes and seminars, respectively that cover a wide range of disciplines. 13 subjects at the department have between 100 and 400 students, 3 have under 100, two over 1500 and 2500 students, respectively. The number of students in major and minor subjects in the year 1999 amounts to 8500, with 200 members of scientific staff, and about 50 non-scientific staff members. The facilities and libraries are spread out in 16 different sites. The structure and endowment of the libraries varies greatly. The sites lack an extensive interconnection (LAN) in order to communicate easily.
In order to commence with regular teaching operations, the first goals would initially be the extensive structuring of the new department in a three-tiered system (department – academic facility – institute/seminar), the naming of individual seminars and the development of a central administration, located in the newly renovated Koserstraße.
An account of the new department can be read online at FUN.
February 3rd: The department council’s first constituent and first regular session takes place in the Koserstraße 20.
The first dean’s office at the Department of History and Cultural Studies consists of Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Claudia Ulbrich (formerly of the History Department), Associate Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hartmut Kühne (formerly of the Department of Ancient Studies), and Associate Dean for Academic Programmes Univ.-Prof. Dr. Günter Gobrecht (formerly of the PhilSozII Department).
April 28th: The department council passes the resolution for the new structure of the department, consisting of the following academic units (WE):
WE1: History (Friedrich-Meineke-Institut)
WE2: Art History (Kunsthistorisches Institut)
WE3: Ancient Studies (Comparative and Indo-Germanic Linguistics, Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Egyptology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Indian Philology and Art History and Religious Studies)
WE4: East Asia and the Near East (Islamic Studies, Semitic and Arabic Studies, Turkic Studies, Iranian Studies, East Asian seminar including Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies and Korean Studies)
WE5: Jewish Studies
WE6: Catholic Theology
WE7: Protestant Theology (Institute of Protestant Theology with subject area ‘Religious History’)
October 28th: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Mechthild Leutner is elected to be the successor of Associate Dean for Academic Programmes Prof. Dr. Günter Gobrecht upon his retirement from service.
In addition, the implementation of advice given by the German Council of Science and Humanities, improvement of teaching, re-structuring of the administration and the expansion of gender competence all take place in 1999 and 2000.
2001
April 1st: Election of the new Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hartmut Kühne, Associate Dean for Academic Programmes Univ.-Prof. Dr. Eberhard König, and Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Barbara Kellner-Heinkele.
2003
February 13th: Election of the new Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Eberhard König, Associate Dean for Academic Programmes Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Bongardt, and Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Mechthild Leutner.
February 2004: The resolution to implement BA and MA programs at the department is passed.
2005
February 9th: The seminar for Comparative and Indo-Germanic Linguistics is relocated to the Department of Philosophy and Humanities.
February 16th: Election of the new Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Bongardt, Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, and Associate Dean for Academic Programmes junior professor Dr. Sebastian Conrad.
September 15th: The Institute of Comparative Ethics is founded and belongs to the academic unit ‘Protestant Theology’ (WE7).
The extensive introduction and implementation of BA programs at the department begins with the 2005 winter term.
November 2005: The Center for Area Studies (CAS) of the Freie Universität Berlin is founded. The center is initially manifested by a virtual platform which is intended to be a point of localization and contact for researchers in Area Studies.
December 13th: The department council votes unanimously to relocate the professorship for Indian Art History (now known as Art History of South Asia) from the academic unit WE2 (Ancient Studies) to WE3 (Art History). The ‘Institute of Indian Philology and Art History’ is named ‘Institute of Languages and Cultures of South Asia.’
2007
February 14th: Election of the new Dean of the Department of History and Cultural Studies Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dominik Bonatz, Associate Dean for Academic Programmes Univ.-Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott, and Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Klaus Krüger.
October: The Freie Universität Berlin is issued a positive evaluation of the concept ‘International Network University’ in the second round of the Excellence Initiative and receives funding starting November 1st. This second round in the Excellence Initiative results in the funding of the graduate school ‘Muslim Cultures and Societies: Unity and Diversity’ at the Institute of Islamic Studies with speaker Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gudrun Krämer, as well as the Cluster of Excellence ‘Topoi. The Formation and Transformation of Space and Knowledge in Ancient Civilizations’ in Ancient Studies with speaker Univ.-Prof. Dr. Friderike Fless at the Department of History and Cultural Studies. Thus the department is a key component in the FU’s excellence status.
The extensive introduction and implementation of MA programs at the department takes place starting with the 2005 winter term until the 2007 winter term.
The department gets involved in the planning process of the new building for the ‘small subjects’ and the Campus-Library on the so-called ‘Obstbaumgelände’ behind the Rost-Silber-Laube.
2009
February: Election of the new Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott, Associate Dean for Academic Programmes Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jörg Klinger, and Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Klaus Krüger.
October: The Institute of Protestant Theology is dissolved.
2011
The election of the new Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jörg Klinger, Associate Dean for Academic Programmes Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michaela Hohkamp, and Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stefan Esders takes place in February and April of 2011. Following the appointment of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michaela Hohkamp to the Universität Hannover, it becomes necessary to fill the position of the Associate Dean for Academic Programmes. Adjunct Prof. Dr. Uwe Puschner is elected new Associate Dean for Academic Programmes.
2012
June 15th: The German Council of Science and Humanities announces the 11 universities which will be funded in the context of the Excellence Initiative based on their future concepts. The excellence status of the Freie Universität is cemented, and the Department of History and Cultural Studies – due to the funding of two graduate schools and one Cluster of Excellence – becomes the most successful liberal arts oriented department in Germany. The graduate school ‘East Asian Studies’ with speaker Univ.-Prof. Dr. Verena Blechinger-Talcott receives funding and joins the ranks of the graduate school ‘Muslim Cultures and Societies: Unity and Diversity’ and the Cluster of Excellence ‘Topoi. The Formation and Transformation of Space and Knowledge in Ancient Civilizations.’
The Department of History and Cultural Studies is now the most successful department/faculty in the Excellence Initiative which contributes to a lasting support of the so-called ‘small subjects’ at the Freie Universität Berlin.
2013
February: Election of the new Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Karin Gludovatz, Associate Dean for Academic Programmes adjunct Prof. Dr. Uwe Puschner, and Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rainer Kampling.
The subject History at the Department of History and Cultural Studies is ranked at place 14 worldwide by the QS-Rankings. The abbreviation QS stands for Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.
2015
February: Election of Dean Univ.-Prof. Dr. Karin Gludovatz, Associate Dean for Academics Programmes adjunct Prof. Dr. Uwe Puschner, and Associate Dean for Research Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfram Schier.
The institutes and seminars as well as the department's administration move into the new building of the department in the Fabeckstraße 23/25 in March and April of 2015, vacating approximately 15 villas in Dahlem.
The Institute of Comparative Ethics is relocated to the Department of Philosophy and Humanities.
2016
Individual areas of the department achieve top positions in the 2016 QS-Ranking. Archaeology (ranked at place 11 worldwide) belongs to the six subjects at the Freie Universität that came in first place in Germany, and History (ranked at place 36 worldwide) belongs to the seven subjects that came in second place.
The Times Higher Education Ranking (THE-Ranking) counts the Freie Universität in the top five German universities, and ranks the FU at place 72 worldwide.
