Simone Wagner is honoured with the Schöpflin Award 2024

Simone Wagner was a doctoral researcher at the Max-Weber-Kolleg and worked in the collaborative research group “Religion and Urbanity” under the lead of Prof. Dr. Susanne Rau, her doctoral supervisor. In her work, she compares the foundations of the authority of abbesses and provosts of south-west German abbeys in the 15th and 16th centuries. During this period, conflicts over the abbesses and provosts, in which their office was negotiated, became more frequent. Like the provosts, the abbesses also derived their authority from their office and did not suffer from a gender-specific legitimisation deficit. Nevertheless, gender-specific behavioural expectations influenced the conduct of abbesses and provosts. These expectations concerned the areas of ideal and biological motherhood, sexuality, and physical violence.

“We are delighted that this excellent research work has been recognised and would like to congratulate Simone Wagner on this award,” said Hartmut Rosa and Jörg Rüpke, Directors of the Max-Weber-Kolleg for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt.