Prof. Dr. H. B. Thomsen

Our group is composed of one full professor, numerous visiting professors, three assistants, lecturers, as well as tutors and other technical staff. Our department is located at the Villa Schönberg of the Museum Rietberg allowing us to benefit from the access to extensive East Asian collections of the museum and expert advice of the museum’s specialists. As can be seen on this website, the teaching and research activities of the department have taken a number of forms, including seminars (BA and MA), lectures, practical exercises, theory classes, museum storage visits, lecture series, workshops, conferences, and excursions. Our key aim is to cover – as best as we can – the art and culture of East Asia, defined as China, Japan, and Korea.

Museum research is an important part of our activities. We are currently surveying a number of museums in Switzerland, including the Museum Rietberg Zurich, St. Gallen Historisches und Völkerkundemuseum, Cabinet d’Arts Graphiques am Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève, Völkerkundemuseum Burgdorf, Musée d’ethnographie Neuchâtel, Textilmuseum St. Gallen, and many more. Excursions in the last two years have included research trips to Chicago, Germany, England, Japan, and China. With our full schedule, we aim to do as much as possible to further the cause of East Asian art history in Switzerland.

A number of talented students are at the present involved in the writing of BA and MA Papers and PhD dissertations in the field. The extent we are able to extend our work in the field depends very much on the corporation of many, including the dedicated members of the staff, our students, and you, the public.

If you would like to participate in the activities of the section, please feel free to do so, whether or not you are part of the university or museum community.

We aim to cover a number of topics each semester. Please join us at the many occasions when we have events open to the general public. I look forward to greeting you at one of these events.

Best regards,
Hans Bjarne Thomsen