About the author:

Carina Branković is a research assistant on the project ‘Teacher Training with a Focus on Combating Anti-Semitism’, funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, within the University Strategy Unit – Teaching Focus of the Presidential Board at the University of Oldenburg.

Prior to this, from 2017 to 2024, she worked as a research assistant in the fields of Religious Studies, Jewish Studies and Intercultural Theology at the Institute for Protestant Theology and Religious Education at the University of Oldenburg. Her doctoral thesis in the field of religious studies examined ritual constructions in George Tabori’s Holocaust drama *The Cannibals* (New York City, 1968) and *Die Kannibalen* (West Berlin, 1969). From 2013 to 2017, she was a research assistant at the Institute for the Study of Religions at the University of Heidelberg. From 2011 to 2013, she received a doctoral scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes) and, from 2009 to 2011, was a research assistant in the Collaborative Research Centre 619 ‘Ritual Dynamics’ ( ) at the University of Heidelberg.

Her Master’s thesis in the study of religion focused on the exhibition ‘A Matter of Faith: An Exhibition for Believers and Non-Believers’ (2006/07) at the Stapferhaus in Lenzburg (CH). During her studies, she received a scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation (2006–2009). She studied Religious Studies, Protestant Theology, European Art History and Jewish Studies at the University of Heidelberg, the Heidelberg College for Jewish Studies and the University of Zurich.

Teaching:

• Winter semester 2026/27: Seminar: ‘Introduction to Judaism’
• From the winter semester 2025/26 to the present: Teaching as part of the ZABIN online compulsory module ‘Fundamentals of Anti-Semitism Education in the School Context’
• Winter semester 2025/26: Seminar: ‘Introduction to Judaism’
• Winter term 2024/25: Seminar: ‘Introduction to Judaism’
• Winter semester 2024/25: Professional development course: “Anti-Semitism – recognising, reflecting on and taking action”
• Summer Term 2024: Seminar: ‘Anti-Semitism – the perpetuation of stereotypes and motifs’
• Summer Term 2024: two seminars: ‘Approaches to Interfaith Dialogue’
• Winter term 2023/24: Seminar: ‘Introduction to Judaism’
• Winter semester 2023/24: Seminar: ‘Transcultural Interfaith Studies: Perspectives and Approaches’ (Lecturers: Dr Carina Branković, Prof. Dr Andrea Strübind, Prof. Dr Almut Höfert, Prof. Dr Dr Joachim Willems, PD Dr Tilman Hannemann, Dr Kim Strübind)
• Summer Semester 2023: Seminar: ‘Introduction to Judaism’
• Summer Semester 2023: Seminar: “Interfaith Dialogue in the Public Sphere” (with Friederike Henjes, M.A./M.Ed.)
• Winter Semester 2022/23: Seminar: “Teaching Workshop: Jewish Life in Oldenburg” (with Friederike Henjes, M.A./M.Ed.)
• Winter Semester 2022/23: Seminar: ‘Transcultural Interfaith Studies: Perspectives and Approaches’ (Lecturers: Dr Carina Branković, Prof. Dr Andrea Strübind, Prof. Dr Almut Höfert, Prof. Dr Dr Joachim Willems, PD Dr Tilman Hannemann, Dr Kim Strübind)
• Summer Semester 2022: Seminar “Gender and Judaism”
• Winter Semester 2021/22: Seminar “Introduction to Judaism”
• Winter Semester 2021/22: Seminar “Transcultural Interreligious Studies: Perspectives and Approaches” (Lecturers: Dr Carina Branković, Prof. Dr Andrea Strübind, Prof. Dr Almut Höfert, Prof. Dr Dr Joachim Willems, PD Dr Tilman Hannemann, Dr Kim Strübind)
• Summer Term 2021: Seminar “Introduction to Judaism”
• Summer Semester 2021: Seminar: “BS/Excursion as part of the anniversary year ‘321–2021: 1,700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany’”
• Summer Term 2021: Seminar: "'We ourselves have heard him.' The Theology of Mercy Amba Oduyoye"
• Winter Term 2020/21: Seminar “Introduction to Judaism”
• Winter Semester 2020/21: Seminar: ‘(Religious) Concepts of Identity in Contemporary Jewish Literature’
• Winter Semester 2020/21: Seminar “Transcultural Interreligious Studies: Perspectives and Approaches” (Lecturers: Dr Carina Branković, Prof. Dr Andrea Strübind, Prof. Dr Almut Höfert, Prof. Dr Dr Joachim Willems, PD Dr Tilman Hannemann, Dr Kim Strübind)
• Summer Term 2020: Seminar “Introduction to Judaism”
• Summer Semester 2020: Seminar: “Discourses on Christian-Islamic Dialogue”
• Summer Term 2020: Seminar: “Approaches to Interfaith Dialogue”
• Winter Term 2019/20: Seminar: “Introduction to Judaism”
• Winter Term 2019/20: “Holocaust Education. Block seminar with an excursion to the Auschwitz Memorial” (in collaboration with Rebecca Hedenkamp, M.A.)
• Summer Term 2019: Seminar: “The Holocaust in Second- and Third-Generation German-Jewish Literature”
• Summer Term 2019: Seminar: “Christian-theological and Islamic-theological Foundations of Dialogue”
• Summer Term 2019: Seminar: “Religious Studies and Theological Approaches to Interfaith Dialogue”
• Summer term 2019: Seminar: ‘“America” in the Museum: Insights into the permanent exhibition at the Übersee-Museum in Bremen’
• Winter Term 2018/19: Two seminars: Jewish Life in Oldenburg in co-operation with the Jewish Museum Berlin’s online platform ‘Jewish Places’
• Winter Term 2018/19: Seminar: Christian-theological and Islamic-theological foundations of dialogue
• Summer Term 2018: Seminar: “The Holocaust in German-language literature after the Second World War”
• Summer term 2018: Seminar: “An Introduction to Islam”
• Summer term 2018: “Resurrection or reincarnation? Reflections from the fields of religious studies and theology”
• Winter semester 2017/18: Seminar: “Local Religious History: Jewish Life in Oldenburg”
• Winter Semester 2017/18: Seminar: “Individual Religiosity in the Exhibition ‘Religramme – Faces of Religions’”
• Summer Term 2017: Introductory Seminar/Field Trip: "'What Would Luther Say?' – The Exhibition 'The Popes and the Unity of the Latin World' and Discourses on the Reformation"
• Winter semester 2016/17: Introductory seminar/field trip: "'The Bible' presented in a museum setting: Perspectives from the study of religion on a religious exhibition setting"
• Summer Term 2016: Introductory seminar: “Ritual and Ritual Dynamics. A reading course with practical exercises”
• Winter semester 2015/16: Introductory seminar/field trip: ‘“Material Religion” in practice – The Esotericism Days in Mannheim’
• Summer Term 2015: Introductory Seminar: “Opening Ceremonies in Museums”
• Winter Semester 2014/15: Introductory seminar/field trip: ‘“Tibet” and “Myanmar” in the museum. Insights into the permanent and special exhibitions at the Linden Museum, Stuttgart’
• Summer Semester 2014: Introductory seminar (in collaboration with Simone Heidbrink, MA): ‘Back to the Objects’ Reloaded – Creation of an (online) exhibition catalogue and other PR texts in a museum context”
• Summer Term 2014: introductory seminar/field trip (in collaboration with Simone Heidbrink, M.A.): “Religious Studies in the Museum – The History of the Discipline through Objects ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Today’”
• Summer Term 2014: Participation in the seminar series: "'Religion goes Media' – (Re-)presentation of religions in selected media discourses"
• Winter Term 2013/14: Introductory seminar (in collaboration with Simone Heidbrink, M.A.): "'I don’t have any rituals – apart from things you do the same way over and over again.' Ritual and ritual dynamics in theory and (religious) practice"
• Winter semester 2013/14: Introductory seminar (in collaboration with Simone Heidbrink, M.A.): ‘“Back to the things!” Religious Studies as the subject of an exhibition – a practice-oriented seminar (with an open-ended outcome)’
• Summer Semester 2011: Introductory seminar (in collaboration with Simone Heidbrink, M.A.): "'Religion as a Powerhouse'. Perspectives from the study of religion on an exhibition about 'God and humankind'"
• Winter Term 2010/11: Circular seminar: “Materiality, the actor and/or the space in between. Interpretation, perception and (re-)presentation of material objects in religious contexts”
• Summer Term 2010: Introductory Seminar: “Text Analysis III on the History of Ancient Iranian Religion”

Publications:

• Branković, Carina: ‘How the Past Lives On in the Present’ – Implications for the Ethics of Memory in the Work of Elie Wiesel, in: Zeitschrift für Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte 36 (2023), No. 2, 283–290.
• Branković, Carina: Explorations of Jewishness. On the intergenerational ‘shared search for meaning’ in Dmitrij Kapitelman’s *The Smile of My Invisible Father* (2016), in: Dominik Gautier/Knut Wormstädt (eds.), Learning Experiences: Theology as a Place of Encounter in Interdenominational and Interreligious Dialogue, Festschrift for Ulrike Link-Wieczorek, Supplements to the Ökumenische Rundschau 136, Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt 2023, 113–130.
• Branković, Carina/Kranz, Dani: The Jewish Presence in Germany: More Than Anti-Semitism and a ‘Circus of Exoticism’, in: APuZ Edition Jewish Life in Germany, Series Vol. 10799, Bonn: bpb 2022, 151–161, also available online at: https://www.bpb.de/system/files/dokument_pdf/APuZ-Edition_JLiD_ba_0.pdf
• Branković, Carina: Critiquing anti-Semitism as a task in university teaching – Institute of Theology and Religious Education at the University of Oldenburg, in: Lower Saxony’s State Commissioner against Anti-Semitism and for the Protection of Jewish Life: Jewish Life in Lower Saxony – vibrant, valuable and enriching. Second Annual Report (2021), Hanover 2022, 85–92 (with Ariane Dihle, Dominik Gautier, Rebecca Hedenkamp, Friederike Henjes, Joachim Willems) About the annual report.
• Branković, Carina/Kranz, Dani: Review of the anthology *‘Because I Want to Live Here …’*. Jewish Voices on the Future of Germany and Europe, edited by Walter Homolka/Jo Frank/Jonas Fegert, Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder 2018, in: Zeitschrift für Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte 32 (2019), No. 1, 198–200.
• Branković, Carina: Constructions critical of ritual and religion in George Tabori’s Holocaust drama *The Cannibals* (New York City 1968) and *Die Kannibalen* (West Berlin 1969), doctoral thesis, Heidelberg: University of Heidelberg 2019, URL: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/26832/.
• Branković, Carina/Koselitz, Sören: ‘Beyond Hochhuth . Reflections on Rolf Hochhuth’s play*Der Stellvertreter*as a catalyst for ecclesiastical self-reflection and the examination of guilt’, in: Julia Enxing/Dominik Gautier (eds.), On the (Im)possibilities of Reparation, Supplements to the Ökumenische Rundschau 122, Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt 2019, 207–221.
• Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone: ‘Prayer Worlds: Aesthetics and Variance of a Religious Practice’, in: *Material Religion* 13 (2017), no. 1, 124–126.
• Branković, Carina: ‘I find the Bible funny because: things always go wrong in it – a true reflection of our existence.’ On George Tabori’s constructions of selected biblical narratives and events in *The Goldberg Variations* (1991), in: Carina Branković/Simone Heidbrink/Charlotte Lagemann (eds.), Religion in Ex-Position, An Exhibition in the Field of Religious Studies, Exhibition Catalogue, Heidelberg University Museum, Catalogues 11, Heidelberg: heiBOOKS ²2016, 82–85, URL: books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/heibooks/catalog/book/69.
• Ahn, Gregor/Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone: ‘To know one is to know none.’ Religious Studies in Heidelberg, in: Carina Branković/Simone Heidbrink/Charlotte Lagemann (eds.), Religion in Ex-Position, An Exhibition on Religious Studies, Exhibition Catalogue, Heidelberg University Museum, Catalogues 11, Heidelberg: heiBOOKS ²2016, 21–30, URL: books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/heibooks/catalog/book/69.
• Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone: ‘Holy Coffee’? A Foreword, in: Carina Branković/Simone Heidbrink/Charlotte Lagemann (eds.), Religion in Ex-Position: An Exhibition in the Study of Religions, Exhibition Catalogue, Heidelberg University Museum, Catalogues 11, Heidelberg: heiBOOKS ²2016, 10–11, URL: books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/heibooks/catalog/book/69.
• Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone: Religion in Ex-Position. An Introduction, in: Carina Branković/Simone Heidbrink/Charlotte Lagemann (eds.), Religion in Ex-Position, An Exhibition on the Study of Religions, Exhibition Catalogue, Heidelberg University Museum, Catalogues 11, Heidelberg: heiBOOKS ²2016, 14–20, URL: books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/heibooks/catalog/book/69.
• Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone/Brand, Madeleine: ‘Today’s special: …!’ The ‘marketplace of religions’ from a sociological perspective, in: Carina Branković/Simone Heidbrink/Charlotte Lagemann (eds.), Religion in Ex-Position: An Exhibition in the Study of Religion, Exhibition Companion Volume, Heidelberg University Museum, Catalogues 11, Heidelberg: heiBOOKS ²2016, 65–69, URL: books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/heibooks/catalog/book/69.
• Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone/Lagemann, Charlotte (eds.): Religion in Ex-Position. An Exhibition on the Study of Religion, Exhibition Catalogue, Heidelberg University Museum, Catalogues 11, Heidelberg: heiBOOKS ²2016, URL: books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/heibooks/catalog/book/69.
• Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone: Religion in Ex-Position. An Exhibition on the Study of Religion – ‘How Can We Study Religion(s)?’, in: Handbook of Religions, Churches and Other Faith Communities in Germany and the German-speaking World, edited by Michael Klöcker/Udo Tworuschka, Supplement 43, Munich: Olzog 2015, 1–29.
• Branković, Carina/Heidbrink, Simone: ‘Religious Studies on Display: the Exhibition Religion in Ex-Position in Heidelberg’, in: *Material Religion* 11 (2015), no. 4, 570–572.
• Rupp, Jan/Branković, Carina/Pattathu, Antony George: On the Media Aesthetics of Ritual Design in Narrative-Fictional Representations. Theoretical and methodological considerations and perspectives for application, in: Janina Karolewski/Nadja Miczek/Christof Zotter (eds.), Ritual Design: A Cultural and Ritual Studies Analysis of ‘New’ Rituals, Bielefeld: transcript 2012, 97–124.