Sina Steglich joined the GHIL in April 2020. She is currently working on a project on nomadism as a discursive figure of modernity in Britain and western Europe. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Mannheim with a project on the history of temporalities in the 19th century, and holds an MA in History, German Literature, and Philosophy. Prior to coming to London, she was Research Associate at the Chair for the History of Humanities at the University of Konstanz.
Research Project
Nomadism as a Discursive Figure of (Post-)Modernity

Since the 1970s, the concept of nomadism as an ancient form of mobility has been rediscovered from a theoretical point of view. European (and other) intellectuals have extensively discussed the unsettled, extra-territorial character of nomads, who, with their stateless lifestyle and their seasonal mobility, neither follow a particular route nor aim at a specific destination. They present the nomad as a key figure of postmodern thought who rejects the modern rationale of temporal linearity and development by transgressing territorial borders and (re-)shaping cultural boundaries. Situating these theoretical discussions in a broader historical perspective, the project will illustrate why nomadism could become a main reference in (post)modern thought, identified as a mode of spatial, cyclic mobility that challenged the modernist narrative of a progressive, meaningful, and directed life.
Responsibilities at the GHIL
- Research Fellow in Modern History
- Managing editor of the GHIL Bulletin
Research Interests
- History of historiography
- Theory and methodology of history
- Intellectual history and history of knowledge
- History of time(s)/temporalities
- Archival history
- European history (19th and 20th centuries)
Education and Academic Background
2020– | Research Fellow at the GHIL |
2018–2020 | Research Assistant at the Department of History and Sociology, University of Konstanz |
2014–2018 | Ph.D., University of Mannheim (Prof Dr Julia Angster, Prof Dr Achim Landwehr) |
2013–2014 | Research Assistant at the Department of Contemporary History, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen |
2009–2020 | Teaching courses and seminars at the Universities of Mannheim, Mainz, and Konstanz |
2007–2012 | BA/MA in History, German Literature, and Philosophy, University of Mannheim |
Fellowships, Grants, and Scholarships
2020 | ‘Junge Perspektiven’ Award from the German Society for the History of Sciences, Medicine, and Technology (Workshop Funding) |
2017/2019 | Travel Grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (Oslo, Tallinn) |
2017–2018 | Ph.D. Fellow at the Leibniz Institute of European History Mainz |
2015 | Ph.D. Scholarship from the Institut Historique Allemand Paris |
2014 | Ph.D. Scholarship from the German Historical Institute London |
2014–2018 | Ph.D. Scholarship from the German National Merit Foundation |
2012 | Marbach Scholarship of the Deutsche Schillergesellschaft, German Literature Archive Marbach |
2009–2010 | Scholarship of the University of Mannheim |
Memberships and Affiliations
- German Historical Association
- History of Concepts Group
- International Network for Theory of History
- Center for Theories in Historical Research (associated)
Publications
Monographs and Edited Volumes
with Moritz Ingwersen (eds.), Moderne Zeitlichkeiten und das Anthropozän, Kulturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, Sonderheft 5 (2022) (Read here)
Zeitort Archiv: Etablierung und Vermittlung geschichtlicher Zeitlichkeit im 19. Jahrhundert (Frankfurt am Main, 2020)
Articles and Chapters
‘Beyond the Dream of Development. Nomadism and the Transformation of Social Cohesion in the 20th Century’, in Bernhard Kleeberg, Anna Möllers, Martin Mulsow, and Dirk Schuck (eds.), Political Anthropologies of Nomadism (Frankfurt am Main/New York, 2023) [in preparation]
‘Heidegger im Gehäuse. Bauen und Sein jenseits menschlicher Soziabilität’ [under review]
‘Nomadism as Prism of Social Cohesion’ [under review]
‘Imaginaries of Belonging an (Im)Mobility. Reconsidering Statehood and Migration in Modern History’, German Historical Institute London Bulletin 45/1 (2023) [in print]
‘Vom Ausgang der Erde aus der Welt des Menschen. Oder: Wie das ‚Prä-‘ vor die Geschichte kam’, Kulturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, Sonderheft 5 (2022), 26–38 (Read here)
with Erhard Schüttpelz and Moritz Ingwersen, ‘Allochronie im Anthropozän – ein Gespräch’, Kulturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, Sonderheft 5 (2022), 107–22 (Read here)
with Moritz Ingwersen, ‘Moderne Zeitlichkeiten und das Anthropozän’, Kulturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, Sonderheft 5 (2022), 1–11 (Read here)
‘Im Takt der Stadt? Archive als alternative urbane Zeiträume im 19. Jahrhundert’, Moderne Stadtgeschichte 2 (2021), 46–58
‘The Archive as Chronotopos in the Nineteenth Century: Toward a History of Archival Times’, History and Theory 60/2 (2021), 324–338 (Read here)
‘Nomadische Notizen. Denken in Bewegung in der (Post-)Moderne’, Historische Anthropologie 29/1 (2021), 125–145 (Read here)
‘Materiale Welten: Wahrnehmung und Repräsentation der Welt im Archiv des 19. Jahrhunderts’, Zeitschrift für Weltgeschichte, 20/2 (2019), 355-77 (Read here)
‘Vom Sichern der Zeit und Zeigen der Geschichte: Zum Archiv als Zeitgeber des Fin de Siècle’, Historische Zeitschrift, 305/3 (2017), 689–716 (Read here)
‘Vom Arkanum zum Chronotopos: Das Archiv als Synchronisierungsinstanz eines nationalen Zeitraums’, in Studentische Projektgruppe Hannover (ed.), Zeit – Raum – Identität (Hannover, 2014), 39–76
Reviews and Miscellaneous Publications
Electronic Publications
‘Jenseits von Entwicklung und Staatlichkeit. Nomadismus als Chiffre für „anderes“ Leben’, in: Themenportal der Max-Weber-Stiftung, 24 April 2022 (Read here)
Podcasts
in conversation with Philipp Janssen, ‘Nomadismus’, in: Anno Punkt Punkt Punkt #82, 27 July 2022 (Listen here)
in conversation with Christoph Schmitt and Senta Terner, ‘Nomadismus als Zugang zur Moderne’, House of Modern History, 05 May 2022 (Listen here)
with Andreas Guidi, ‘Archives and Temporality in the 19th Century’, The Southeast Passage, #episode 30, 22 April 2020 (Listen here)
Blog posts
‘From the When of History to the How of the Historical’, Geschichtstheorie am Werk, 30 November 2021 (Read here)
‘Vom Wann der Geschichte zum Wie des Historischen’, Geschichtstheorie am Werk, 19 October 2021 (Read here)
Nomadism is Understood as an Anachronistic and Primitive Lifestyle’, Interview 5in10: TRAFO – Blog for Transnational Research, 07 August 2020 (Read here)
‘Der Verlust der Zeit in der Vielfalt der Zeiten oder die Suche nach der ein(end)en Zeit: Das Archiv des Fin de Siècle als Ort nationalgesellschaftlicher Synchronisierung’, Das 19. Jahrhundert in Perspektive: Geschichtswissenschaftliche Forschungen in Deutschland und Frankreich, 29 October 2015 (Read here)
Reviews and Conference Reports
for Archiv und Wirtschaft, European History Quarterly, German History, Historische Anthropologie, H-Soz-Kult, International Network for Theory of History,Neue Politische Literatur, Zeitschrift für Germanistik, and Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft.