Eleonora Grammatikou

Email: elgram@uni-bonn.de

I am a Doctoral Research Fellow for the project “The Representation of Black People in European Art and Material Culture using the example of the Tucher family coat of arms”. My research project is dedicated to the detailed analysis of the Tucher family coat of arms as an exemplary case study in order to explore the multi-layered development of the representation of black people over the centuries. The focus lies on the profound implications for perception and reception in Europe. The research aims to gain unique insights into the heraldic development of the Tucher patrician family and to open up an innovative approach to medieval cultural history.

As a queer cultural anthropologist specializing in museum studies, my research interests lie primarily in the field of postcolonial and critical heritage studies as well as queer and gender studies.

In my master’s thesis, I investigated the challenges and potentials of including queer perspectives in museums, using the example of the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf. The focus lied on the empirical investigation of diversity-sensitive practices and narratives. Based on a multi-layered approach that integrates theoretical concepts from museum studies, queer studies and critical cultural analysis, the thesis takes the “crisis of representation” in museums as a starting point to consider dominant critiques of existing power structures and exclusions that affect queer and marginalized identities.