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Dr. Fani Gargova

Research associate

Office: 05 309
+49 6131 39 30361
e-mail

Since September 2024: Research Associate at the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG)
2022-2024: Postdoctoral Researcher at the Buber-Rosenzweig Institute for Modern and Contemporary Jewish Intellectual and Cultural History, Goethe University Frankfurt
2020-2022: Postdoctoral University Assistant at the Department of Art History, University of Vienna
2019 PhD in Art History from the University of Vienna with a dissertation on the Central Synagogue of Sofia
2015-2017: Junior Fellowship at the IFK International Research Center for Cultural Studies University of Art and Design Linz in Vienna and IFK_Fellowship abroad at the Université Bordeaux Montaigne
2013-2015: Byzantine Research Associate at the Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives of Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University in Washington, DC
2003-2010: Master’s Studies in Art History with minors in Philosophy and Slavic Studies

  • Sound and acoustics in synagogue architecture
  • 19th-20th century (Central) European synagogue architecture
  • Architecture and city planning in the nation building context in the Balkans
  • Representations of minority, alterity, and gender from a postcolonial perspective
  • Medievalisms, Byzantinisms, and Orientalisms in art and architecture
  • Historiography of art history
  • Art historical archives and photo archives
  • Digital humanities

  • The Central Synagogue of Sofia: Westernization, Urban Change, and Religious Reform, Köln 2024.
  • Popularizing Byzantine Architecture. The 1900 Paris World Exhibition, Balkan Nationalisms and the Byzantine Revival, in: Markéta Kulhánková/Przemysław Marciniak (Hrsg.), Byzantium in the Popular Imagination. The Modern Reception of the Byzantine Empire, London 2023, S. 11–31.
  • Situating Sephardi Spaces Between Vienna and the Balkans, Special Section im Leo Baeck Institute Year Book 67 (2022).
  • Marcus Ehrenpreis and the Literary Circle Misal, in: Renate Hansen-Kokoruš/Olaf Terpitz (Hrsg.), Jewish Literatures and Cultures in Southeastern Europe. Experiences, Positions, Memories, Wien 2021, S. 47–62.
  • The Impact of Choir and Organ on Synagogue Architecture: Preliminary Thoughts on the Role of Musical Performance in Balkan Sephardic Communities, in: Liz James/Oliver Nicholson/Roger Scott (Hrsg.), After the Text: Byzantine Enquiries in Honour of Margaret Mullett, Abingdon/New York 2022, S. 328–350.

Ongoing
Sep. 2024 - Aug. 2029
Religion

Synagogues as Sonic Spaces: Jewish Reform Architecture and Auditory Religious Experience (ca. 1750 – 1938)

The synagogue is generally understood to be the central religious and social gathering place of a Jewish community. The design of the space and the associated possibilities for experiencing religious practice vary according to the historical, cultural, and geographical context of the synagogue, as well as the gendered and hierarchical dynamics within the community. Consequently, the architecture of the synagogue reflects the orientation and religious identification of the respective community. Research on synagogue architecture has so far primarily focused on stylistic or general visual characteristics, often neglecting liturgical aspects or the urban context of the building. The premise of this project is that synagogues as spaces are shaped by their acoustic experience, making sound a fundamental element that defines these religious spaces. Sound is therefore a central, albeit understudied, aspect of synagogue architecture.
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