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Karl-Heinz Kohl

カール＝ハインツ・コール

Karl-Heinz Kohl

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-11-24 （Fürth, Germany）
Nationality
Germany
Languages
German
Residence History
Erlangen (student period) → Berlin (research & employment) → Mainz (faculty) → Frankfurt am Main (professor, Frobenius Institute) → New York (2001/02, The New School visiting)

Career

Occupations
Ethnologist, Religious studies scholar, University professor, Exhibition curator
Active Years
1975-2016
Affiliations
Frobenius Institute, Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, University of Mainz, Freie Universität Berlin
Memberships
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Völkerkunde, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (humanities class)
Influenced By
Bronisław Malinowski, E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Claude Lévi-Strauss

Education

Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen
Religious studies, History, Philosophy, Ethnology
Degree: Magister
Period: 1968–1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: Germany
Studied at Erlangen and Berlin; magister degree completed 1975
Freie Universität Berlin
Religious studies & Ethnology
Degree: Dr. (Promotion)
Period: 1975–1980
Year of Graduation: 1980
Country: Germany
PhD awarded 1980 (thesis on the image of the 'good savage' and experiences of civilization)
Freie Universität Berlin (Habilitation)
Religious studies
Degree: Habilitation
Period: 1986
Year of Graduation: 1986
Country: Germany
Habilitated at Freie Universität Berlin in 1986

Awards

Sigmund Freud Prize for Scientific Prose
2024
Organization: Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Exotik als Beruf

1979 Ethnography / scholarly monograph 123 pages

An early major work examining ethnographic experience and the Western concept of exoticism.

exoticismethnographic theoryfieldwork experience

Entzauberter Blick

1981 Ethnology / Religious studies

Critically examines Western perceptions of the 'good savage' and experiences of civilization.

images of the othercritique of civilizationreligious perspectives

Der Tod der Reisjungfrau

1998 Religious ethnography

Detailed account of myths, cults, and alliances in an East Flores local culture in eastern Indonesia.

mythrituallocal culture

Die Macht der Dinge

2003 Material culture / religious anthropology

A comparative study on the power of objects, their history and theory, across sacred and secular contexts.

material culturesacralitysymbolism
Translations
  • Powerful Things. History and Theory of Sacred Objects

Neun Stämme

2024 Indigenous studies / modernity

A recent work reassessing the relationship between indigenous heritage and the roots of modernity.

indigenous peoplesmodernityheritage

Bibliography

  • Exotik als Beruf. (1979)
  • Entzauberter Blick. (1981)
  • Abwehr und Verlangen. (1987)
  • Ethnologie – die Wissenschaft vom kulturell Fremden. (1993; 3rd ed. 2012)
  • Der Tod der Reisjungfrau. (1998)
  • Die Macht der Dinge. (2003)
  • Raran Tonu Wujo. (2009)
  • Das Humboldt Forum und die Ethnologie. (2019)
  • Powerful Things. (2020)
  • Neun Stämme. (2024)

Translations of Works

  • Powerful Things (English translation, 2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear scholarly prosecomparative-historical and theoretical approachexhibition-text suited explanatory style
Recurring Motifs
power of objects and sacralityrepresentations of the other and exoticismmuseum and collection theory

Legacy

Kohl has made wide-ranging contributions to ethnology and religious studies, leading the Frobenius Institute and promoting research and exhibitions. Through his work on material culture and exhibition texts he bridged academia and the public; in 2024 he received the Sigmund Freud Prize for his scholarly prose.

Museums

  • Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin, Germany Opened in 1881
  • Frobenius Institute Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Academic Societies

  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Völkerkunde
  • Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (humanities class)

Archives

  • Frobenius Institute archives (Frankfurt)

Trivia

  • Served as director of the Frobenius Institute from 1996 to 2016.
  • Involved as editor of the journal Paideuma.
  • Held the Theodor Heuss Professorship at The New School, New York, in 2001/02.
  • Recipient of the Sigmund Freud Prize for Scientific Prose in 2024.