Alexander Kaestner
Since 2020 I am the academic coordinator of TU Dresden's Institute of History, where I've been working since 2005. I am also a member of the SAC IV (scientific area committee IV) speakers team in the school of humanities and social sciences.
Between 2017 and 2022 I was a principal investigator at the CRC 1285 (project G, together with Gerd Schwerhoff). Part of this work was and still is a microhistory of the early Reformation in the Saxon Ore Mountains. Here my interests are the use of invective language and the emergence and shape of a unique early 1520s public sphere.
For many years my research interests have been focused on the history of suicide, in particular on its theological, judicial, medical, political and administrative treatment in early modern Saxony (1547-1815). I completed my post-graduate studies with a doctoral thesis on this topic in 2009 and a doctoral viva in 2010 - both rated summa cum laude with the thesis awarded best alumnus at TU Dresden’s Faculty of Philosophy. These studies culminated in a published monograph: “Murderous History. Suicide in Early Modern Saxony, Mandatory Regulations and Proceedings 1547–1815“ (“Tödliche Geschichte(n). Selbsttötungen in Kursachsen im Spannungsfeld von Normen und Praktiken (1547–1815)“, Konstanz: UVK 2012).
Moreover, my research considers the history of criminality in the early modern period, especially felonies against God and the Christian community, as well as the social and cultural history of early modern anatomy, that is the supply of anatomies with corpses and the fears and taboos referring to anatomical practices. Furthermore, I am interested in the history of death, death’s representations in funeral sermons, and at last I take great interest in cinematic representations of history and historical images. I arranged a study on the early modern experience and perception of winter, particularly (intense) cold and frost, and its impact on human life and culture some years ago and I plan to continue these studies and publish its results later. Beyond these academic activities I am engaged in Dresden's history society and create projects together with museums and archives throughout Saxony.
My teaching deals particularly with the history of criminality and law in early modern Europe, the sixteenth century’s Holy Roman Empire, media of historiography and both reading and editing early modern handwritings. In semester 2, 2011-12, I taught a course on violence and the law in Europe and North America since 1600 at NUI Maynooth (Ireland). In 2022 the results of practical seminar on the history of the plague were published as a touring exhibition starting in Lauenstein castle. During summer semester 2023 I taught a course on creative historical writing at Sapir College (Isreal). I was honored with two prizes for best teaching in 2020 and 2021 and I'll do my very best to keep on with encouraging and profound courses in early modern history.
Topics of my recent publications are for instance the histories of suicide, the relationship between capital punishment and anatomical practice, the rise of humane lifesaving programs, the constructions of expert knowledge, the history and myth of early modern executioners, and the history of the early Reformation public sphere.
Before all this really resulted in an academic career, I studied History, Political Sciences, Sociology and Economics at TU Dresden from 1999 till 2005, initially to become a teacher. Simultaneously I worked as a student assistant and student tutor at the chair for Early Modern History and the Collaborative Research Center 537 “Institutionality and Historicity” as well as a student research assistant at the International Graduate School 625 “Norms and Symbols”.
After having received my state examination in 2005, I matriculated as a doctoral student at the TU Dresden and worked as a research assistant. From 2007 till 2010 I was engaged in a research project on the history of duels and dueling in early modern Sweden and Germany. Afterwards I was involved in a project on religious deviance in early modern Europe at TU Dresden’s Collaborative Research Center 804 “Transcendence and Common Sense”.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Gerd Schwerhoff, Prof. Dr. Josef Matzerath, and Dr. David Lederer
Phone: 0049-351-463-39288
Between 2017 and 2022 I was a principal investigator at the CRC 1285 (project G, together with Gerd Schwerhoff). Part of this work was and still is a microhistory of the early Reformation in the Saxon Ore Mountains. Here my interests are the use of invective language and the emergence and shape of a unique early 1520s public sphere.
For many years my research interests have been focused on the history of suicide, in particular on its theological, judicial, medical, political and administrative treatment in early modern Saxony (1547-1815). I completed my post-graduate studies with a doctoral thesis on this topic in 2009 and a doctoral viva in 2010 - both rated summa cum laude with the thesis awarded best alumnus at TU Dresden’s Faculty of Philosophy. These studies culminated in a published monograph: “Murderous History. Suicide in Early Modern Saxony, Mandatory Regulations and Proceedings 1547–1815“ (“Tödliche Geschichte(n). Selbsttötungen in Kursachsen im Spannungsfeld von Normen und Praktiken (1547–1815)“, Konstanz: UVK 2012).
Moreover, my research considers the history of criminality in the early modern period, especially felonies against God and the Christian community, as well as the social and cultural history of early modern anatomy, that is the supply of anatomies with corpses and the fears and taboos referring to anatomical practices. Furthermore, I am interested in the history of death, death’s representations in funeral sermons, and at last I take great interest in cinematic representations of history and historical images. I arranged a study on the early modern experience and perception of winter, particularly (intense) cold and frost, and its impact on human life and culture some years ago and I plan to continue these studies and publish its results later. Beyond these academic activities I am engaged in Dresden's history society and create projects together with museums and archives throughout Saxony.
My teaching deals particularly with the history of criminality and law in early modern Europe, the sixteenth century’s Holy Roman Empire, media of historiography and both reading and editing early modern handwritings. In semester 2, 2011-12, I taught a course on violence and the law in Europe and North America since 1600 at NUI Maynooth (Ireland). In 2022 the results of practical seminar on the history of the plague were published as a touring exhibition starting in Lauenstein castle. During summer semester 2023 I taught a course on creative historical writing at Sapir College (Isreal). I was honored with two prizes for best teaching in 2020 and 2021 and I'll do my very best to keep on with encouraging and profound courses in early modern history.
Topics of my recent publications are for instance the histories of suicide, the relationship between capital punishment and anatomical practice, the rise of humane lifesaving programs, the constructions of expert knowledge, the history and myth of early modern executioners, and the history of the early Reformation public sphere.
Before all this really resulted in an academic career, I studied History, Political Sciences, Sociology and Economics at TU Dresden from 1999 till 2005, initially to become a teacher. Simultaneously I worked as a student assistant and student tutor at the chair for Early Modern History and the Collaborative Research Center 537 “Institutionality and Historicity” as well as a student research assistant at the International Graduate School 625 “Norms and Symbols”.
After having received my state examination in 2005, I matriculated as a doctoral student at the TU Dresden and worked as a research assistant. From 2007 till 2010 I was engaged in a research project on the history of duels and dueling in early modern Sweden and Germany. Afterwards I was involved in a project on religious deviance in early modern Europe at TU Dresden’s Collaborative Research Center 804 “Transcendence and Common Sense”.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Gerd Schwerhoff, Prof. Dr. Josef Matzerath, and Dr. David Lederer
Phone: 0049-351-463-39288
less
InterestsView All (46)
Uploads
Books by Alexander Kaestner
How did early modern urban communities deal with diversity? How did town dwellers and authorities react to confessional deviance? And how did they react to certain conduct, that – for instance in cases of blasphemy or adultery – was deemed unchristian and considered to query society’s core values, respectively. Who defined both deviant confessions and deviant religious manner? By what means did religious or legal as well as civic fundamental norms, e.g. ‘good neighbourhood’, or simple pragmatism matter? The articles collected here answer these and other questions using the examples of different Central European cities."
Klappentext: "Vormoderne Städte waren in ihrem Idealbild homogene Sakralgemeinschaften, die allen Ketzereien und religiösen Abweichungen entschlossen entgegentraten. Wenn eine christliche Obrigkeit diese Übel nicht energisch bekämpfe, so verkündeten zahlreiche Polizeiordnungen, dann drohe der göttliche Zorn unweigerlich das gesamte Gemeinwesen zu vernichten.
Tatsächlich entsprach die historische Realität angesichts eines hohen Maßes an sozialer Differenzierung und Heterogenität diesem Idealbild nie – erst recht nicht, nachdem die Reformation religiöse Heterogenität auf Dauer etabliert hatte. Wie gingen Städte in der Frühen Neuzeit mit dieser Verschiedenartigkeit um? Wie reagierten Stadtbewohner und Obrigkeiten auf konfessionelle Abweichungen oder Verhaltensweisen, die – etwa in Gestalt von Gotteslästerung oder Ehebruch – als unchristlich galten und die Werte der städtischen Gemeinschaft in Frage stellten? Welche Akteure waren an der Definition eines abweichenden Bekenntnisses oder abweichenden religiösen Verhaltens beteiligt? Welche Rolle spielten religiöse, rechtliche und andere, bürgerliche Leitnormen wie gute Nachbarschaft oder simpler Pragmatismus? Die Beiträge des Bandes gehen diesen und weiteren Fragen vergleichend am Beispiel ausgewählter Städte nach."
reviewed by Jordy Geerlings in h-net (URL: https://networks.h-net.org/node/15337/discussions/61692/review-g%C3%B6ttlicher-zorn-and-shadows-doubt); John Jordan in German History (doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghu019); Peer Frieß in sehepunkte 13 (2013), 7/8 (URL: http://www.sehepunkte.de/2013/07/22545.html); Gerhard Koebler in ZIER (URL: http://www.koeblergerhard.de/ZIER-HP/ZIER-HP-03-201
3/GoettlicherZornundmenschlichesMass.htm); Monika Mommertz in: VSWG 101, 4 (2014), 528-9; Silke Törpsch in: WerkstattGeschichte 64 (2013), 143-145.
Articles by Alexander Kaestner
heterogeneous and a closer look at the alleged richness of the data uncovers remarkable gaps. Furthermore, medieval and early modern population estimates are highly unreliable. Thus, we argue that historical research on violence should return to focus on specific historical constellations, accept the need for painstaking source criticism and pay careful attention to the contexts of violence.