Research focus in the ProSaDi project: AP3.5.1 Representing Postcolonial Epistemologies in Times of Digitisation: Cowries – A Case Study

In this work package, the contemporary shift in meaning of cowries is analysed from a postcolonial perspective. To this end, an overview corpus will be compiled that covers contemporary sources since around 1960, from literary works by Nigerian authors such as Flora Nwapa and Buchi Emecheta to representations in global pop culture and social media. On this basis, postcolonial and commercial reframings of cowrie shells will be examined in exemplary case studies. The results will contribute to postcolonial theory formation in the digital-epistemological research design of the overall project. At the same time, the study will strengthen the critical dimension of the scientific field by investigating epistemic bias in knowledge production.

Dissertation project: ‘Reframing the Nature–Culture Divide: Postcolonial Epistemologies and the Classification of “Natural History” Objects’
 
This dissertation project deals with the separation of nature and culture in European museums. It questions the basis on which ‘museum objects’ are classified into the categories ‘nature’ or ‘culture.’ The analysis considers, on the one hand, the inclusion of the ‘objects’ in the respective museums during the colonial period and, on the other hand, the current classification and knowledge production surrounding the ‘objects,’ including in the context of digitisation.

Since January 2026 Research assistant/research coordinator in the project “London Commercial Outlets” at the University of Potsdam  

Since November 2024 Research assistant in the ProSaDi project

January 2024–December 2025 Research assistant/research coordinator in the Berlin’s Australian Archive project at the University of Potsdam
 
December 2023 Completed Master’s degree in Applied Cultural Studies and Cultural Semiotics at the University of Potsdam
 
February 2021–December 2023 Student assistant at the MfN Berlin archive
 
October 2017 Completed double bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies and English/American Studies at the University of Potsdam
 
For further information, see LinkedIn. 
 

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8896-2911

• Adams, L., de Boer, V., Kahmen, O., Möhrle, F., & Ziemer, D. (2025). The Digitisation of Ethnographic Objects Featuring Cowrie Shells in the Research Cluster ProSaDi: A Case Study of a 'Cartridge Pouch' from Togo. Digital Turn. Collections – Provenances – Markets (Digital Turn), Berlin. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17532752
• Möhrle, Fiona, Anja Schwarz, and Eva Bischoff, eds. Provenance Research in Colonial Natural History Collections from Australia: Perspectivia.net, to be published in 2025.
• „Collections from Colonial Australia in Berlin's Museum für Naturkunde and the Challenges of Data Accessibility“ – Conference poster for TDWG 2023 with Co-Authors Prof. Dr. Anja Schwarz and Dr. Sabine von Mering (https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.7.111980).
• “Archive als Orte des kulturellen Gedächtnisses – Der Umgang mit Archivgut aus kolonialen Kontexten am Beispiel des Museums für Naturkunde Berlin” Masterarbeit 2023 (https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-65343).
• “Berücksichtigung von Indigenous Property Rights bei der Digitalisierung der Bildsammlung Blandowski“ – Vortrag mit Alona Dubova beim 5. Workshop Retrodigitalisierung, organisiert durch die Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (https://doi.naturkundemuseum.berlin/data/10.7479/bmey-0h14)
• „Ist ein Tier ein Dokument?“ Essay für Bilder der Natur, 2024 https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/de/ist-ein-tier-ein-dokument.
• „Interview: Working in the Archive II” (https://doi.org/10.58079/n05n)