In 2021, Professors Bernd Bucher and Marcus Pyka applied for a research grant from the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS) and were successfully selected to lead a two-year research project entitled “Pandemics as Driver towards Modern Borders and International Collaboration in 19th Century Mediterranean and South-Eastern European Periphery.”
As Professor Bucher explains, the project focuses on understanding how borders are created in relation to fighting off pandemics. This is not only from a historical perspective but also by understanding how different States managed conflicts, the widespread of diseases, and cooperate nowadays. Therefore, the research not only has a historical dimension, but also a current political one.
The grant allowed Franklin to bring in a post-doctoral scholar, Dr. Giorgio Ennas, who is today the principal investigator in the project. Dr. Ennas spends most of his time on the field, visiting various archives around Europe and Turkey, and collecting valuable information on the influence of pandemics and the development of borders in the 19th century.
Learn more and discover how Franklin students will be involved in different lectures and courses by listening to Professor Bucher's and Dr. Ennas' short interviews.
If interested in getting involved in this exciting project, please email Professor Bucher and Dr. Ennas.
To read more about the origins of the research grant click here.