Summary
Born in Berlin, I was educated at the universities of Göttingen and Cambridge, where I obtained my MPhil and PhD.
I have been at the University of Hull since completing post-doc research, and have also held research fellowships at the University of Oxford, the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel (twice), and the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.
My main field of interest is the political culture of early modern Europe, with a focus on monarchy and courts, political ritual and pamphlets from 17th to 20th-century Germany.
I am also interested in the relationship of European expansion and natural sciences in the age of the Enlightenment.
Recent highlights include newspaper and radio interviews and appearances on the BBC's Radio 4 broadcast of Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time on Frederick the Great, and, as presenter, on ARTE TV channel's documentary, France - Allemagne, Une Histoire Commune - where I also got to talk about Ludwig II of Bavaria flying over his palaces in a small plane.
Professional highlights include a year at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and working as a curator on the 'Friederisiko' exhibition in Potsdam's historic palaces in 2012.