Outreach
Generating Knowledge: Event Series
Max Planck Partner Group
Daily Practices of Cosmological Knowledge in Late Imperial China (1368–1911)
Doctors at Leiden University hospital reenact Frank Lillie’s early placental dyeing method used as a diagnostic tool for assessing placental anastomosis. Used to study a biological phenomenon in genetically female cows born from a dizygotic twin pregnancy, called freemartinism, the dyeing technique maps the exchange of blood and hormones across the placental connection that renders the female twin intersex and unable to conceive. Film still from Flush (2023). © Lucy Beech, courtesy of the artist.
Dept. III
Artifacts, Action, Knowledge
Director Dagmar Schäfer
T +49 30 22667 151
Department III studies the history of knowledge and action considering the changing role of artifacts: texts, objects, and spaces. Our research collectively examines the processes and structures by which people grappled with the materiality of existence. Through the analysis of everyday actions, we interrogate the boundaries and intersections between the inner workings of objects and all domains of life. Together these approaches allow us to pursue inquiries into historical epistemologies of action. Our research structure has three entry points: artifacts (things), action (making), knowledge (work).
Working Groups
The Department’s research activities are organized into collaborative working groups focused on project-based outputs that promote discussion and debate on the production of knowledge.
