Claudia Schmölders


Claudia Schmölders, also Claudia Henn-Schmölders is a cultural scholar, author, and translator.

Life

Schmölders completed a study of music, German studies, and philosophy at the Universities of Cologne, Zürich, Berlin and New York. She attained a Doctorate of Philosophy from the Free University of Berlin in 1973. From 1975 to 1999, she was a freelance publicist, literary editor, and editor for different publishing firms in addition to teaching at the Universities of Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, and Berlin. She was named a Fellow at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris in 1991 and at the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin in 1991/92. She did her habilitation at Humboldt University of Berlin with work on physiognomy and from 1998 until 2008 she served as a private docent at the Institute of Cultural Science of Humboldt University.
As a cultural scholar, Schmölders is concerned with the histories of physiognomy, book culture, politeness, and conversation in Europe. In addition, she has edited literary anthologies and translated literature and children's books.
Since 2000, Schmölders has been a member of P.E.N.-Zentrum Deutschland. She received the 2004 Heinrich Mann Prize.

Family background

Her parents, Elisabeth Schmölders, was a journalist, her father, Günter Schmölders, professor for economics in Breslau and after 1947 in Cologne. He was among the early pioneers of behavioral studies in economics, including works on the failure of prohibition and alcohol regulation laws. Her grand-grandfather Franz August Schmölders was professor for orientalism in Breslau. Claudia Schmölders heads the Schmölders foundation in memory of her father together with Christian Opelt. The foundation has some connection with the Verein für Socialpolitik, an important association for economics in Germany.

Works