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You are here: FRIAS Fellows Fellows 2021/22 Dr. Javier Francisco

Dr. Javier Francisco

University of Freiburg
Graduate School “Empires”,
affiliated with the Department of History
European empires and socio-ecological transformations

Member of the Young Academy for Sustainability Research
October 2021 - September 2024


CV

Javier Francisco is a historian for European imperial history and its socio-ecological repercussions. Among his research interests are: the ecological impact of land-use, historical biodiversity assessment (terrestrial and maritime), global processes of transfer of knowledge, indigenous and local agency, imperial conflicts and social transformations. Additionally, his inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation includes projects related to post-imperial power asymmetries, ecological legacies and sustainability. His cooperation partners worked for the GiZ (development cooperation agency), Fraunhofer Institut and ScientistForFuture. His academic career stages include: the University of Tübingen (master’s degree), the Freie Universität Berlin (PhD), Columbia University and Colegio de México (Visiting Scholar), the Max-Weber Kolleg in Erfurt and the University of Freiburg. He has conducted archival work in Buenos Aires, Paris, Sevilla, Den Haag and Vatican City. In his spare time, he likes sports (volleyball, badminton), jazz, fantasy, science-fiction (Star Trek, Asimov, The Expanse), animals and social gatherings.

Full CV available here.

Selected Publications

  • Imperial Methuselah: A New Theoretical Approach on Europe’s Rule in the Americas. (expected: 2024)
  • Die spanisch-amerikanische Jesuitenuniversität in Córdoba, Argentinien. Transatlantische Verflechtungen und gesellschaftliche Verankerung in der Kolonialzeit. wbg Academic, Stuttgart: 2018.
  • “The Two Faces of the Same Coin: Star Trek’s Federation and the Terran Empire,” in: Sturgis, Amy; Strand, Emily (eds.). Star Trek: Essays Exploring the Final Frontier. Vernon Press, Wilmington: 2023.
  • “Conceptual Framework For Biodiversity Assessments in Global Value Chains,” in: Sustainability, vol. 11/7: 2019. With: Stephanie Maier (Fraunhofer Institut), Jan P. Lindner (Bochum University of Applied Sciences). [open-access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/7/1841/pdf].
  • “‘Para convertir a los infieles’ – Asymmetries in the Global Circulation of Jesuit Personnel,” in: Schmid Heer, Esther; Klein, Nikolaus et al. (eds.). Transfer, Begegnung, Skandalon? Neue Perspektiven auf die Jesuitenmissionen in Spanisch-Amerika. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart: 2019. Pp. 127–146.
  • “Das jesuitische ‘Trojanische Pferd’ im transandinen Vizekönigreich Peru. Sektorale Kooperation und Wettbewerb,” in: Elvert, Jürgen; Elvert, Martina (eds.). Agenten, Akteure, Abenteurer. Drucker & Humboldt, Berlin: 2018. Pp. 189-198.
  • “Methodological Approach for the Sustainability Assessment of Development Cooperation Projects for Built Innovations Based on the SDGs and Life Cycle Thinking,” in: Sustainability, vol. 8/10: 2016. With: Stephanie Maier (University of Bayreuth), Tabea Beck (University of Stuttgart) et al. [open-access: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/10/1006].

YAS-Projects

  • Global Debates on Biological and Linguistic Diversity [with Matthias Kranke]
  • YAS Podcast [with YAS members]
  • Graphic Novel on the Environmental Crises [with Lea Breitsprecher, Cristina Espinosa, Matthias Kranke, Sarah May and Ida Wallin]

Other projects & third-party funding

  • Book project “Imperial Methuselah”. Herein, I propose a model to account for the interplay of friction and cooperation which resulted in multiple entry points for European expansion and structural cohesion. This study provides a comparative analysis of eight empires and offers a model through which we can better understand imperial longevity in Early Modern America.
  • Article “Reassessing the Commodity Frontier: Temporal Regimes in Early Colonial North America”. This research focuses on how we can categorize indigenous societal transformations into temporal regimes and thus investigate environmental changes in so-called commodity frontiers in the Eastern Woodlands.