Farewell to Prof. Judith Schlehe

The Global Studies Programme bids farewell to our dear colleague, Prof. Dr. Judith Schlehe, professor and head of the department for Social and Cultural Anthropology, who will be retiring after the current summer semester.

Judith Schlehe was one of the founding members of the Global Studies Programme at the University of Freiburg, and has served as part of its steering committee ever since its inception in 2002. She has accompanied the programme through many developments, for example the increase of student numbers, the change of partner universities, or the switch to online instruction in the wake of the global pandemic.

During her long involvement with the Global Studies Programme she has reviewed numerous applications for the programme, has regularly taught the methods class in the first semester, has supervised and evaluated a host of master’s theses, and has accompanied so many students throughout their academic journeys.

Topics that Prof. Schlehe has supervised over the years include: The changing religious identity of Muslim immigrants in Germany, the socioeconomics of education in Guyana, anthropology and sociology of Thai food, women and HIV/AIDS in Africa, migrants along the Balkan route, the perception of Syrian refugees in Germany towards the German culture of marriage, the role of YouTube politics in the current political polarisation of South Korea, and many others.

We are more than grateful for every minute Judith Schlehe has invested in the programme and we are sure that her influence will continue to be visible even after her retirement. We wish her all the best for the years to come.

The GSP team