Pacific Office

The German Historical Institute's Pacific Office brings the Pacific world into the GHI’s research agenda. The broadened scope and perspective build on the GHI’s established programs in North American and transatlantic history, German and European history, and transregional and global history. The Pacific Office aims to put an emphasis on research projects and scholarly programs that explore the interconnections of the Atlantic and Pacific worlds. At the same time, the Pacific Office takes up our institute’s long established interest in the history of migration and combines it with approaches in the history of knowledge, which has been a research focus at the GHI since 2015.

Interdisciplinary by design, the program in migrant knowledge aims to foster exchange among scholars in fields such as history, migration studies, political science, and cultural studies. It also goes beyond academia and includes experts in the governmental and NGO sectors in the discussion. Please visit our blog for more information and to join the network: migrantknowledge.org.

Photo Credit: Sather Gate, University of California, Berkeley. © 2017 UC Regents, all rights reserved.

Programs


The GHI’s Pacific Office helps coordinate programs in the GHI’s core research fields along with its program on the history of migrant knowledge. Like the GHI’s head office in Washington, the Pacific Office supplements its scholarly offerings with an active public-outreach program. 

Programs on Migrant Knowledge


Bucerius Young Scholars Forum at GHI PRO at UC Berkeley

The Bucerius Young Scholars Forum in Berkeley is designed to bring together a transatlantic group of ten junior scholars from Germany, Europe and North America to explore new research questions in the history of migration. 

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Binational Tandem Fellowship in the History of Migration at GHI PRO in Berkeley

GHI PRO and IES at UC Berkeley offer German and North American postdoctoral scholars the opportunity to develop a binational research tandem in order to work on research projects in the field of the history of migration at GHI PRO a year.

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Annual Policy Symposium

GHI PRO organizes an annual policy symposium with its visiting senior fellows. You can learn more about past symposiums by using the filter on the events page.

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Programs on core research areas of the GHI


 

Gerda Henkel Lecture Tours 

The Gerda Henkel Lecture Tours brings German historians to the West Coast where they present their research at up to four different universities with the goal of facilitating the general dialogue between German historians and their colleagues in the U.S. and Canadian west. The lecture tours are coordinated by the Pacific Regional Office of the Germany Historical Institute, Washington. You can learn more about past lecture tours by using the filter on the events page.


Fritz Thyssen Pre-Dissertation Fellowships for Students in German & European History at West Coast Universities

GHI PRO and the Department of History at UC Berkeley grant up to five summer fellowships to graduate students in German and European History to visit German archives and libraries to review material for their dissertation.

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Academic conferences, lectures, and other public events

GHI PRO cooperates with regional partners to facilitate scholarly networking as well as disseminate research to a larger audience by organizing academic conferences, lectures, and other public events. Find the latest GHI PRO events by filtering for "bay area" under events.


Guest Scholar Program

The GHI guest scholar program is designed to give visiting doctoral and postdoctoral scholars who have their own funding a base for their independent research in either Washington, DC or at the GHI’s branch office at the University of California, Berkeley (GHI PRO). 

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Events & Conferences


Mar 07, 2025

Seventh West Coast Germanists' Workshop: Migration, Mobility, and Exchange

Workshop at University of Nevada, Reno | Conveners: Viola Alianov-Rautenberg (GHI Washington | Pacific Office, Berkeley) and James McSpadden (University of Nevada, Reno)

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Sep 29, 2025

Food, Migration, and Belonging in 20th Century European History

Conference at German Historical Institute | Pacific Office at UC Berkeley | Conveners: Maren Möhring (University of Leipzig), Isabel Richter (GHI Washington Pacific Office at UC Berkeley)

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GHI Pacific Office Team


Isabel Richter

Deputy Director
Pacific Office of the German Historical Institute Washington
Institute of European Studies | University of California, Berkeley | 249 Philosophy Hall | Berkeley, CA 94720-2316
Phone +1.202.552.8936

richter@ghi-dc.orgRead on

Visiting Fellows & Affiliated Scholars