"I study the use of ancient and post-ancient artefacs and their reception in Islasmic, Byzantine and Western medieval contexts. In doing so, I link processes of repurposing to questions of ownership of cultural heritage and the relationship of individual groups to history and the past.
I am particularly interested in traditional distinctions and the attribution of meaning. My interest centers on moments, objects and points of intersection where established categories fail to function, thereby revealing the inadequacy of modern models. Engaging with objects from the past – be they languages, texts or artefacts – makes us aware of our own position in the present and allows us to recognise our modern preconceptions. We understand things through difference. Engaging with the past can therefore help us to better understand ourselves and our world – something that an exclusive focus on contemporary phenomena can scarcely achieve, as it tends to reinforce existing assumptions. Temporal distance should therefore be understood not as an obstacle, but as a productive condition for insight: it enables epistemological critique and actively contributes to shaping the relationship between the self and the world."
His research focuses on the history of art and architecture in medieval Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, with particular emphasis on transcultural phenomena and cultural heritage from late antiquity to the beginning of the early modern period.
