Jessica Annette Albrecht

Welcome! This is the academic website and blog of Jessica A. Albrecht.

I am a historian of religion and gender, mainly because I am interested in the entangled history of feminism, religion, and esotericism. I am currently writing my PhD and work at the University of Heidelberg. I write on, teach about, and discuss how we can contribute to decolonize academia with a feminist perspective.

My PhD research focusses on religious girls‘ education in colonial Sri Lanka and its intersection with global feminisms. This is highly connected to 19th century imperial, colonial history, the emergence of „modern“ religion and esotericism, and questions of gendered and racialized bodies. The project started off as research on the Theosophical Society, a 19th century global esoteric movement which was very active in creating modern esotericism as well as engaging with religious reform and national movements in colonized countries.

However, after my fieldwork trips to Sri Lanka, oral history interviews and visits to the schools of my study, that focus shifted to the more general topic of gender, education and religion in contemporary and colonial Sri Lanka. I am forever grateful to all those who have helped me so far in this study!

I am an academic, but also a feminist and a blogger. My blog has been active for some years now, ever changing. In it, I engage with personal, political and academic questions of today. Enjoy reading the latest posts here.

Not only do I write for my own blog, I also contribute to various other blogs, journals, and podcasts. You can read those articles and find the podcasts here and you can always follow me on twitter to stay updated.

I am immensely proud of En-Gender!, the online journal, blog, podcast and network we have created over the past years. Click on this link and become a part of it!