Center for InterAmerican Studies

 We cordially invite to the next talk of our colloquium series. On Tuesday, 25th of November (6 pm c.t., Room X E0-226), Martin Lutz (Universität Bielefeld) will be leading a lecture with the title:

The Politics of Religion: What the Anabaptist Case Can Teach us About the Political Landscape in the Americas.

This lecture explores how religion shapes political imaginaries and practices across the Americas by revisiting the historical experience of the Anabaptist movement. Drawing on its principles of community, dissent, and resistance to state authority, Martin Lutz examines what the Anabaptist case can reveal about contemporary political dynamics, faith-based mobilization, and the complex relationship between religion and democracy in the hemisphere.

Martin Lutz is Professor of History of Modern Societies at Bielefeld University. His research combining social, economic, and business history bridges specializations, subjects, regions, and theories, and includes work on globalization; religion and modern capitalism; Germany, North America, and Russia/the Soviet Union; and institutional theory. This research is focused on understanding how actors and institutions interact to shape historical change, and combines study of the social, political, economic, and cultural influences on capitalism and society. These themes have been a consistent yet evolving research interest since the start of Lutz’ career, and are reflected in my publications on the transnational history of Siemens, German-Soviet economic relations during the Weimar Republic, Anabaptist (Mennonite/Amish/Hutterite) religion and socio-economic development in North America, moral economy and—most recently—on German-Soviet/Russian energy relations at the end of the Cold War. He contributes to the field, the academy, and the public through service on cross-disciplinary university committees, working groups, and engagement with media outlets, including periodicals, TV, and radio.

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