Harald is a professor of modern global history at ETH Zürich. Before joining ETH, he was an assistant professor for extra-European history at Jacobs University Bremen. He earned his PhD from the University of Heidelberg in 2000. His research interests include global and transnational history, the history of knowledge and the social and cultural history of 19th and 20th-century South Asia. His most recent research monograph is The YMCA in Late Colonial India: Modernization, Philanthropy and American Soft Power in South Asia.  

Bumpy Rides to Modernity: A Global History of Cycles and Cycling in South Asia (c. 1870 – 1990)

The project provides a fresh perspective on the transregional and transcultural history of the bicycle. Studying the symbolic and material significance of the bicycle on the Indian subcontinent complicates narratives that glorify Western techno-modernity in the Global South. The enhanced mobility provided by the new vehicle triggered fierce contestation and controversy around imperialism and decolonisation. The four case studies illuminate key moments in the first 100 years of cycling history in in South Asia and reveal the cultural meanings of the new technology in non-Western cultural and political constellations.

Sarah is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Art, Culture and Global Relations at Western University. Her research addresses cultural diplomacy and museums, and she maintains an active curatorial practice focused on contemporary art. Her recent publications include the monograph Trading on Art: Cultural Diplomacy and Free Trade in North America and the collection Museum Diplomacy: How Cultural Institutions Shape Global Engagement. She co-founded the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative and is a member of the International Cultural Relations Research Alliance.

Mobilizing the Museum: Diaspora Communities and Cultural Institutions

As a fellow at global dis:connect, Sarah will work on a monograph addressing the growth of diaspora museums as an institutional subsector in North America. Sarah’s project examines how diaspora communities are increasingly establishing new museums to shape discussions of their identity, heritage and migration journeys. Her research aims to understand how diaspora communities mobilise museums to advance heritage narratives, with a focus on global dis:connection, institutional critiques and cultural diplomacy.