In winter term 2015/2016, Teresa Gärtner, Theresa Hornischer, Nicole Najemnik, Kerstin Schulte and Sophia Stockmann gained a BGHS Shortcuts scholarship. In addition, Lina Peitz participated as a guest in the Shortcuts programme. All participants worked on their Exposé for their dissertation projects.

 
Participants of the BGHS Shortcuts-Programme 2015 (from left to right): Sophia Stockmann, Nicole Najemnik, Kerstin Schulte, Lina Peitz, Teresa Gärtner, Theresa Hornischer

The BGHS Shortcuts programme promotes young women researchers of Sociology and History, and assists them in the transition from their Master studies to a dissertation. Important components of the programme in the winter term 2015/2016 were for example the Shortcuts colloquia, in which project outlines were discussed and developed. Furthermore multi-day writing workshops with a writing coach were useful for working on their Exposés.

Kerstin Schulte, intending to write her dissertation on: Entstehung der 'Volksgemeinschaft' hinter Stacheldraht. Die Internierungslager der britischen und amerikanischen Zone, 1945-1950 [The origin of 'Volksgemeinschaft' behind barbed wire. The detention centre of the British and American zone, 1945-1950], perceived the four months at the BGHS as very profitable: "These months were, in every way, an extremely valuable time for me. The programme, especially the constant exchange with the other participants in the colloquia, was crucial for gaining more confidence concerning my project and my own abilities. It provided me with enough space and time to positively revise my Exposé, and to intensively discuss specialised literature, and thus to present my project in a more favourable way."

The programme was supplemented by information sessions on the doctoral researcher status, as well as workshops on scientific competitions and how to finance the dissertation. Additionally, the Shortcuts participants were enabled to converse with BGHS doctoral researchers and participants of the programme Blickpunkte. This programme, hosted by the Faculty of History, supports female students in future and career planning. What is more, the Shortcuts participants met on a regular basis to peer coach each other, which they perceived as tremendously helpful. As a result, they decided to continue this beyond the frame of the programme.

The five scholars were given an office at the BGHS, to work on their Exposés in a quiet environment. After four months of intensive work, the scholars finished their Exposés. Currently, they are applying for scholarships and doctoral researcher positions. Nicole Najemnik, intending to revolve her thesis around Cybergewalt gegen Frauen aus intersektionaler Perspektive [Cyber violence against women from an intersectional perspective], has already been successful. Form March onwards, she will be employed as a research assistant at the Technical University of Cologne. After her studies in Vienna, she spend two years working in the North Rhine Westphalian parliament, and stresses that without the Shortcuts scholarship and the opportunity to concentrate on her Exposé, the way back to science would not have been such a success.

Because of the positive experience they made within the BGHS Shortcuts programme, the three historians, Teresa Gärtner, Theresa Hornischer and Kerstin Schulte, decided to continue their academic career in Bielefeld and will start as doctoral researchers at the BGHS in the summer term 2016. Thereby, the Shortcuts programme increases the proportion of women among the doctoral researchers of history.

Professor Ingrid Gilcher-Holtey will supervise Theresa Hornischer’s dissertation project 'Les écrivaines-voyageuses' – Reisende Frauen als Intellektuelle in der Zwischenkriegszeit in Frankreich am Beispiel von Léo Wanner [Les écrivaines-voyageuses' – traveling women as intellectuals in the interwar period in France using the example of Léo Wanner]. Ingrid Gilcher-Holtey, who is also a member of the Commission for promotions of the Faculty of History, emphasised that the Shortcuts-time is highly noticeable in the quality of Exposés.

Teresa Gärtner studied in Jena and is now settling in Bielefeld to start her PhD. Her work on Kontroverse Geschichtskultur(en). Die kritische Narration der 'Geschichte von Unten' – eine Untersuchung am Fallbeispiel Bremen [Controversial historical culture(s). The critical narration of 'history from below' - a study using the example of Bremen] is supervised by PD Dr. Jörg van Norden. Dr. Daniel Siemens supervises Kerstin Schulte’s dissertation.

For further information on the Shortcuts programme see:
www.uni-bielefeld.de/bghs/Personen/Fellows/shortcuts.html