Research Assistant at the Chair of Educational Science, History of Education (Prof. Dr. Carola Groppe) at Helmut Schmidt University.
DR. PHIL. TIMM GERD HELLMANZIK
About
Welcome to my page!
I am a researcher in educational science and history of education at Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg. My research focuses on the theoretical and historical aspects of education, learning, and socialization, at the intersection of educational science, history, and cultural studies.
On this website, you’ll find information about my research and teaching, my academic background, a list of my publications and lectures, as well as ways to get in touch with me.
Feel free to reach out to me with any inquiries about my publications, lectures, collaborations, or if you need a supervision for your thesis. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Career path
Since November 2021
2020–2021
Research stay in Istanbul at Istanbul University, supported by the annual scholarship for doctoral students from DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).
2017–2020
Research Assistant in the DFG project "The Knowledge about Turks and Turkey in Pedagogy. Analysis of Discursive Change 1839–1945" (Prof. Dr. Ingrid Lohmann) at the University of Hamburg.
2018–2022
Ph.D. (Dr. phil.) at the University of Hamburg with the dissertation: "From the 'Turkish Yoke' to 'Germany's Friendship for Turkey' — The Transformation of Knowledge about the Ottoman Empire in German History Textbooks 1839–1918." (open access)
2011–2017
Studies in History, Theology, German Studies, and Educational Science at the University of Osnabrück (Master of Education).
2011
Abitur (High School Diploma) at Kaiserin-Auguste-Viktoria Gymnasium in Celle.
1991
Born in 1991 and raised in Celle.
Research Focus and Interests
Theories and history of education
Transnational and postcolonial history of education
Comparative and intercultural education and schooling
(Historical) gender and socialization research
Education and religion, education and media
Grants and scholarships
2022 to 2024 HSU travel grants for congress presentations: ISCHE43 (Milan, Italy), ISCHE44 (Budapest, Hungary), DGfE Section Conference (Berlin), EERA/ECER (Nicosia, Cyprus)
2023 DAAD scholarship for a congress trip to Gdansk (Poland)
2021 Funding from the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg (5000 euros) for the organization of the conference Teaching Religious Education – Challenges, Developments and Perspectives in a Plural World at the University of Hamburg
2021 Scholarship for a one-month research stay at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media in Braunschweig
2020 to 2021 Scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service for a one-year research stay in Istanbul (Turkey)
2013 Funding for a six-month internship at the German School in Athens (Greece) through the European Erasmus program
Publications
Cultural Policy for the New Turkey. Friedrich Schrader and the Osmanischer Lloyd, Constantinople 1908–1918. A Commented Source Collection (Klinkhardt 2025)
Culture Policy for the New Turkey examines the role of Friedrich Schrader and the Osmanischer Lloyd in the context of educational and cultural policy in the Ottoman Empire between 1908 and 1918. This annotated collection of sources sheds light on Schrader’s contributions as a journalist and intellectual to contemporary debates on school reform, women’s emancipation, and language policy. Positioned between German cultural imperialism and Ottoman modernization efforts, his writings provide new insights into a largely overlooked chapter of German-Ottoman educational history. In this volume, Ingrid Lohmann and I analyze Schrader’s work within the broader transnational dynamics of cultural and educational policy during this transformative period. (Open Access)
“The West” from a Postcolonial Perspective of History of Education. The Construct “Europe” as a Conceptual Boarder (De Gruyter 2025)
The article critically examines how the concept of “Europe” is constructed in the history of education and used to differentiate it from the “non-European.” From a conceptual-historical and postcolonial perspective, it becomes evident how European narratives contribute to the creation of a hegemonic self-image that positions the “West” as superior. The analysis highlights how such constructions reproduce historical inequalities and create marginalizations. (Open Access)
Video Games as Educational Media? Analyses and Reflections on the Global Strategy Game Civilization (Klinkhardt 2024)
The article explores the fascinating world of video games as educational media, using Civilization VI to illustrate how digital games can offer more than just entertainment. Through gameplay mechanics, topics such as climate change, resource management, and historical development become tangible, opening up exciting learning opportunities—for both schools and adult education. However, for meaningful use in educational settings, Dennis Mathie and I advocate for thoughtful, pedagogical integration. The article highlights how video games can promote a vibrant, modern form of political, historical, and social education. (Open Access)
War and Peace in German History Textbooks around 1900: The Russo-Turkish War of 1877/78 and the Berlin Congress (Klinkhardt 2024)
In the article, I delve into the question of how war and peace are adressed in textbooks of the German Empire. The analysis becomes particulary intriguing when considering conflicts that aren’t considered “domestic”; which I set the focus on the Russo-Turkish War of 1877/78. The analysis reveals that even the pedagogical presentation of ostensibly distant conflicts was far from neutral, consistently involving an imperialistic and interest-specific framing. (Link)
Between Othering and Self-Assertion – Conceptions of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey in German History Textbooks of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries (Beltz 2023)
The article introduces key findings from my monograph on how knowledge about the Ottoman Empire is portrayed in textbooks, putting them into a broader context. This examination contributes to revisiting the roots of stereotypes once thought outdated, yet still effective to some extent even today. (Open Access)
From the "Turkish Yoke" to "Germany’s Friendship for Turkey" – The Transformation of Knowledge about the Ottoman Empire in German History Textbooks (1839–1918) (Klinkhardt 2023)
In my monograph, I explored the perception of “Turks” and “Turkey” in historical history textbooks for higher education between 1839 and 1918. The focus was on analyzing the attribution strategies throughout the historical evolution. The study revealed significant changes in the perception of “the Others.” Within the descriptions of “the Turks,” we also find reflections of how German textbook authors perceived themselves and their own identity. (Open Access)
Gender Relations thorugh History Textbooks (Brill 2023)
My contribution focuses on the construction of gender relations in textbooks for girls’ education during the 19th century. The prefaces of these educational materials reveal the gender anthropological assumptions that serve as the theoretical foundation for the content presented in these books. The intention was to present historical knowledge to girls in a specific manner, one that wouldn’t overwhelm them and would appear appropriate to their life circumstances. (Link)
"The Turks Were Never Considered as Brothers, Always Remaining Foreign to European Intellectual Culture" – The Image of the Turks in Joseph Annegarn’s 'World History for Catholic Youth' (1840) (Klinkhardt 2021)
The article is a sub-study that was conducted in connection with my monograph. In this study, the perceptions and ideas about “the Turks” and “Turkey” are analyzed in an exemplary history textbook designed for Catholic schools. The findings reveal that the textbook consistently contains pejorative attributions. It serves as a prime example of how linguistic expressions from earlier historical contexts are perpetuated and disseminated. (Open Access)
LECTURES
CONFERENCE PAPERS
2025
Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy of the Goethe-Institut in the 1970s and 1980s: Language and Cultural Programs
At the congress European Conference on Educational Research 2025: Education in an Age of Uncertainty (EERA) at the University of Belgrade (Serbia), 09–12 September 2025. (Homepage)
Authority and Defiance – Mathilde Vaerting’s Perspectives on Teaching and Teacher-Student Relationships
Together with Susann Hofbauer at the annual conference of the International Standing Conference for the History of Education at the Université de Lille (France), 08–11 July 2025. (Homepage)
2024
Schrader in Constantinople. Cultural Policy and Transnational Translation in the Osmanischer Lloyd 1908-1918. Presentation of a Book Project
Together with Ingrid Lohmann at the Colloquium on the History of Education of the Network of Hamburg Historians of Education at the University of Hamburg, 08 November 2024.
On the Relationship between Languages, Education and Nation-building: Imaginations, Idealizations and Historicizations in the Osmanischer Lloyd (1908-1918)
At the congress European Conference on Educational Research 2024: Education in an Age of Uncertainty (EERA) at the University of Nicosia (Cyprus), 27–30 August 2024.
Socialization in the Family – Theoretical and Practical Research Considerations from Historical Socialization Research
Together with Carola Groppe, Morvarid Dehnavi and Dennis Mathie at the Confernce of the Network for Family Research in Educational Science at the University of Osnabrück, 07–08 June 2024.
Historical Socialization Research. A Proposal for a Research Practice. Report on a Book Project
Together with Carola Groppe, Morvarid Dehnavi and Dennis Mathie at the Colloquium on the History of Education of the Network of Hamburg Historians of Education at the University of Hamburg, 24 May 2024.
Workshop: Collective Biography of the Prussian Reformers
Together with Carola Groppe at the Research workshop “The Knowledge of the Prussian Administration. Collection, Evaluation and Visualization of Sources and Data on School and Youth (ca. 1800 to 1920)” at the Humboldt University of Berlin, 25–26 April 2024. (Program)
On the Relationship between Postcolonial Theory and Educational Science – Theoretical Lines of Reception and Reflections on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s Critical Understanding of Education
At the 29th Congress “Crises and Transformation” of the German Educational Research Association (GERA) at the University of Halle, 10–13 March 2024. (Homepage)
2023
Game Studies and Educational Media: Reflections and Analyses on the Significance of Digital Educational Games
Together with Dennis Mathie at the Annual Conference of the International Society for Textbook and Educational Media Research (IGSBi) at the University of Gdańsk (Poland), 06–08 October 2023. (Program)
Constructions of Difference, Culture, and Cultural Domination in Mathilde Vaerting’s Sociology and Psychology of Power
Together with Eik Gädeke at the Annual Conference of the Commission on Science Research of the German Educational Research Association (GERA) at Helmut Schmidt University, 13–15 September 2023. (Flyer)
Freedom and Equality in Prussian Reforms: Commission Work, Debate, and Group Configurations in Memel and Königsberg, 1807–1810
Together with Carola Groppe at the Conference “Freedom and Equality” of the Section History of Education of the German Educational Research Association (GERA) at Humboldt University in Berlin, 11–13 September 2023. (Program)
Educational Reform as the Most Crucial Step in Nation-Building: Co-Editor Friedrich Schrader’s Cultural Policy Comments in the Daily Newspaper Osmanischer Lloyd, Constantinople 1908–14
At the Annual Conference of the International Standing Conference for the History of Education at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest (Hungary), 18–21 July 2023. (Homepage)
Cultural and Educational Policy Comments by Friedrich Schrader in the Osmanischer Lloyd 1908–1914
Together with Ingrid Lohmann at the Colloquium on the History of Education for Post-/Doctoral Students of the Network of Hamburg Historians of Education at the University of Hamburg, 09 June 2023.
2022
The Emergence of German History Textbooks for Girls’ Schools in the 19th Century
At the Annual Conference of the International Standing Conference for the History of Education 2023 at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan (Italy), 31 August–03 September 2022. (Homepage)
2021
Demarcation from the Other – The Image of Turks in a German, Catholic History Textbook of the 19th Century
At the Annual Conference of the International Standing Conference for the History of Education 2021 (Online Conference), 14–25 June 2021.
2019
The Perception of “Turks” and “Turkey” in German History Textbooks. A Study about the Discursive Change between 1839-1918
At the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) by the European Educational Research Association (EERA) at the University of Hamburg, 03–06 September 2019. (Abstract)
Knowledge about “Turks” and “Turkey” in Pedagogy: An Analysis of Discursive Change in German Textbooks, 1839-1918
At the 10th History of Education Doctoral Summer School (HEDSS-10) at Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom), 13–16 June 2019. (Homepage)
“Turks” and the Greek War of Independence in German History Textbooks (1839-1870)
At the DFG Project Workshop: Images of “Turks” and “Turkey” in Pedagogy and Educational Policy in the 19th and 20th Centuries at the University of Hamburg, 23–25 May 2019.
2018
The Discursive Change of the Image of “Turks” and “Turkey” from 1839 to 1945 in German Pedagogy and Teaching Profession
At the 12th Forum of Young Educational Historians of the Section History of Education of the German Educational Research Association (GERA) at the University of Vienna (Austria), 27–28 September 2018.
The Image of Turkey in German History Textbooks of the 19th and 20th Centuries: Presentation of a Research Project
At Colloquium on the History of
Education for Post-/Doctoral Students of the Network of Hamburg
Historians of Education at the University of Hamburg, 23 June 2018.
Organization of Conferences
Colloquium: Network of Hamburg Education Historians
Organization of the Hamburg Colloquium on the History of Education, University of Hamburg, 23 May 2025, 08 November, 24 May 2024, 09 June 2023.
Teaching Religious Education – Challenges, Developments and Perspectives in a Plural World
Funded by the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg (€5000) and conducted at the University of Hamburg, 08–09 December 2021. (Program)
Images of Turks and Turkey in pedagogy and educational policy in the 19th and 20th centuries. Co-organization of the workshop for the DFG project: Knowledge about Turks and Turkey in Pedagogy. Analysis of the discursive change 1839-1945. University of Hamburg, 23-25 May 2019.
Teaching
My teaching covers theories and history of education, culture and socialization. I combine the basics of educational science with marginalized topics and research perspectives of historical research and cultural studies approaches.
Based on the reading of historical sources, theoretical texts and contemporary research literature, students in my seminars undertake an independent, problem-oriented examination of educational research fields.
Winter trimester 2025
Inclusion and Othreing in Education and Society (19th-20th century) (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Winter trimester 2025
Minorities and “Culture” in the Educational History of Modernity (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Post- and Decolonial Perspectives in Educational Science – Past and Present (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Nation-Building in Educational Media – Past and Present (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Fall trimester 2024
(Post-)Colonialism and Education – Relationship, Opportunities and Challenges (Master’s course in Educational Science)
Difference as a Category in the History of Ideas and Culture in Education (Master’s course in Educational Science)
Spring trimester 2024
Migration and education – international (educational) policies, movements and interdependencies (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Fall trimester 2023
Research paradigms in the historical and theoretical research of education II (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Educational theories of the 19th and 20th centuries (Master’s course in Educational Science)
Spring trimester 2023
Research paradigms in the historical and theoretical research of education I (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
The history textbook from the perspective of history of education (Master’s course in Educational Science)
Winter trimester 2023
Interculturality and education in the 19th and 20th centuries
(Bachelor’s course in educational science)
Winter semester 2022/23 (University of Hamburg)
Postcolonial Education (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Fall trimester 2022
Research fields, methods and sources of (historical) educational research – national and international perspectives II (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
Spring trimester 2022
Research fields, methods and sources of (historical) educational research – national and international perspectives I (Bachelor’s course in Educational Science)
PROJECTS
1. January 2025
Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy in Germany
Engaging with the foreign cultural and educational policy of the Federal Republic of Germany forms the core of my ongoing…
1. January 2024
Historical Socialization Research
Another focus of my research is the development of a methodological proposal for historical socialization research and its application through…
1. January 2023
Analyses of Power, Inequality, and Difference
Another area of interest includes analyses of educational and societal power, inequality, and difference structures, both on a theoretical and…
1. January 2023
German-Turkish Histories of Education in the 19 and 20th centuries
I dedicate a large part of my research to analyzing the German-Turkish history of education in the 19th and 20th…
CONTACT
Dr. phil. Timm Gerd Hellmanzik
Research Assistant (Postdoc) at the Chair of Educational Science, History of Education (Prof. Dr. Carola Groppe), within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the
Helmut Schmidt University, the University of the German Federal Armed Forces
Gebäude H4 / 106
