University of Bern
E-mail: laura.emunds@unibe.ch
Laura Emunds is a PhD Candidate at the University of Bern. Currently, she conducts her research under the umbrella of the project “TraSIS. Trajectories of Slavery in Islamicate Societies. Three Concepts from Islamic Legal Sources” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (2022–2026). She holds BA and MA degrees from Hamburg University and studied for additional credentials and further language training at Birzeit University and at the University of Edinburgh. She became interested in the legal aspects of slavery in pre-modern Islamic societies while studying for her Master’s degree. Initially focussing on sales practices and purchase contracts, her focus later expanded to investigate the commodification of the human body in the context of enslavement. In her dissertation project, she is now investigating the kitābah contract, a bilateral agreement between slave owner and enslaved person that contractually stipulates manumission in return for the fulfilment of clearly defined obligations. She is focussing on investigating the legal status attributed of the mukātab/ah. In particular, she is interested in the effects of this status in individual areas of law and on the socio-legal relationships of the persons concerned.
Besides her research interests, Laura serves as co-president of University of Bern’s intermediate staff organization. In this position, she represents the interests of PhD students, postdocs and lecturers vis-à-vis internal and external bodies such as the university management and cantonal authorities.