Doctoral Student Lisa Fahrni
Contact Information
Lisa Fahrni, M.A.
Marstallstraße 6, Room 414
69117 Heidelberg
Germany
Email address: lisa.fahrni@zegk.uni-heidelberg.de
About
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09/2024 - | PhD student at the Department of History at Heidelberg University Dissertationsprojekt: Die Rezeption Napoleons I. im Rahmen der Integration Westeuropas, 1952-1973 (The Reception of Napoleon I in the Context of Western European Integration, 1952-1973; working title) |
09/2023 | Heidelberg University and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Master of Arts German-french masters programme in history Master thesis: „Die Schweiz im Angesicht der Cholera. Nationale Identität und Alpenmythos im Spiegel der Krise“ (grade 1,0) Supervised by Prof. Dr. Karen Nolte (Heidelberg University) and Dr. Jawad Daheur (EHESS) |
07/2021 | University of Freiburg i.Ü., Bachelor of Arts Major: Contemporary history Minor: Law Bachelor thesis: „Wenn die Familienplanung zum öffentlichen Interesse wird. Einblicke in die Sterilisationspraxis der Berner Armenbehörden, 1931-1954“ (grade 5,5, according to the swiss system) Supervised by PD Dr. Barbara Lüthi
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06/2016 | Kantonsschule Schaffhausen, Matura |
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09/2023 – 08/2024 | Academic Intern, Swiss Parliamentary Services, Economic Affairs and Taxation Committees |
11/2020 - | Research Assistant at the Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau, in particular, collaboration on the BPTools project to provide teaching materials on history and political education |
02/2023 – 07/2023 | Research Assistant, Research Centre on Antigypsyism (RCA), Heidelberg University |
08/2019 – 09/2021 | Visitor service, Bernisches Historisches Museum |
06/2016 – 08/2016 | Editorial Intern, Schaffhauser Nachrichten |
2015 – 05/2016 | Freelance employee, Schaffhauser Bock |
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2024 - | Swiss Network of Female Historians |
2023 - | Ehemaligen-Verein des Deutsch-Französischen Master- und Doktorandenprogramms Geschichte der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg und der EHESS Paris (Alumni Association of the German-French Master and Doctoral Programme History of the Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg and the EHESS Paris; HEIPAR e.V.) |
2021 - 2022 | Mobility allowance, Franco-German University (FGU) |
Research interests
- Political symbolism
- Politics of history
- History of psychiatry
- Political culture in Switzerland in the 19th century
Doctoral project
The Reception of Napoleon I in the Context of Western European Integration, 1952-1973
Supervised by Prof. Dr. Thomas Maissen, the doctoral project aims to examine the contradictory images of Napoleon 1st and how they were exploited in the context of Western European integration during the post-war period by using a multilateral comparison.
Napoleon is at the core of the collective memory in numerous Western European countries, whilst occupying an extraordinarily ambivalent position. Manifestations of national memories are of paramount importance, at a time when these countries were renegotiating their cooperation. Contrasts and possible parallels regarding Napoleon’s representation in specific countries will be analysed through the lens of Western European integration after World War II.
While the (institutional) integration of Western Europe was driven by common goals such as economic growth or geopolitical autonomy, the countries’ opposing interests in the unification process gave rise to references back to Napoleon, perceived by some as a thought leader seeking to unite Europe, as an aggressor attempting to subjugate other nations by others. Against this backdrop, these different memories emerging after the war are to be understood as disputes between political forces as to how they regarded themselves in the present and in what manner they envisioned the future. This project will analyse the context of (re)emergence of these narratives, how they have evolved as well as how they were used politically.
One striking example is how British Prime Minister (1957-1963) Harold Macmillan used the imagery of Napoleon as an aggressor to criticize France’s role in the European Economic Community (EEC), comparing it to a new French quest for European supremacy. He argued that “De Gaulle is trying to dominate Europe. His idea is not a partnership, but a Napoleonic or a Louis XIV hegemony”1. If this statement was not used as a call to reject the EEC but rather to bolster British participation as a means of establishing a proper balance of power, it fully illustrates how politically useful references to Napoleon were and how relevant they still were in the post-war context.
1 Macmillan Harold, At the End of the Day. 1961-1963, New York/Evanston/London 1973, Harper & Row, p. 366 [Quote from a letter dated 28 January 1963].
